Must the old mass stay frozen in 1962?

The Restoration and Organic Development of the Roman Rite
László Dobszay
T & T Clark £24.99
(978-0-567-03386-4)
Church Times Bookshop £22.50

A STEADILY growing body of literature is building up within Roman Catholic circles that claims that the liturgical reforms that have emerged within that Church are not what the Second Vatican Coun­cil originally in-tended. It is argued that the Roman Rite had previously always dev­eloped “organically”, whereas the new rite represents a complete rup­ture with that tradi­tion. In this stable László Dobszay’s book firmly belongs.

What is unique about his con­tribu­tion, however, is that he is not urging a “reform of the reform”, as others tend to do. He does not think “that the content of the post­conciliar reform liturgy can really be reformed”. Instead, what he advo­cates is that existing alongside this modern rite should be “a process of continuous and organic develop­ment of the classicalRoman Rite”, whose 1962 form has recently been authorised for use in Latin by Pope Benedict XVI.

The bulk of this substantial book is a series of very detailed proposals for doing this within what the author believes to be the true spirit of the Second Vatican Council, even including a limited use of the ver-­nacular. His suggestions are not res­tricted to the eucharist alone, but also cover the daily office, the calendar and lectionary, Holy Week rites, and — as might be ex­pected from a musicologist — the chants of the mass.

Whatever the specific merits of the particular proposals that he makes here, his is an interesting idea, and not entirely dissimilar to the presence of both modern- and traditional-language rites in the Church of England. It will be fas­cinating to see what will be the reaction to this of other critics of the current rite, many of whom so far appear to want to keep the 1962 rite frozen in time.

Not only would such a development bring the traditional rite more into line with the values and insights of the Liturgical Movement, and thus perhaps make it more appealing to a wider range of worshippers, but it could well— as Dobszay himself suggests — also have a positive effect on the celebration of the contemporary rite.

There can be little doubt that the liturgical reforms of the past half-century have led to the emergence of some extremely infelicitous trends that go far beyond what the official texts and rubrics themselves mandate, and do therefore give some justification to the complaints that are made against them by conservative critics. But the current situation in which attitudes towards liturgical practices have become polarised is not beneficial to the Church.

The co-existence of two forms of the Roman Rite which were develop­ing in tandem might well bring about a healthy cross-fertilisation. But will it ever be allowed to happen?

The Revd Dr Paul Bradshaw is Professor of Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame and a member of the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission.

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