Ad Orientem – A flash back

 -John Chacko

The article “Ad Orientem” in a certain blog is to make confusion among those who are of anti-Chaldean tradition and revive the Syro-Malabar Chaldean Church. The author of this article in that blog is unknown. He/she has really copied this article from the link he/she has given below the article. The link is the following: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=55976. If you click on the above link it takes you the exact article you read in faith blog. But the author in faith blog failed to not that the article in www.catholicculture.org is three years old, that means it was published in January 15, 2008. The original author too, as in the case of Faith blog, is unknown in the website.

We need to know more about this website, where this article was first appeared. This is website is not, officially or unofficially, supported by either Vatican or USCCB. For the last para of the tab “about” reads like this, “CatholicCulture.org is run by a non-profit (501 c 3) corporation, Trinity Communications. The board and officers of Trinity Communications are Catholic laymen faithful to the Magisterium of the Church, who seek to enrich faith, strengthen the Church and form Catholic culture according to the mind of the Church.

Trinity Communications draws special inspiration from the outstanding Catholic vision and wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI.” Here they say they are ordinary laymen, just like you and me. They do not claim to have any godfather ship from any spiritual centers. But they are attracted to the vision and wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI

Whatever expressed in this article is merely the personal interest of the author. It does not have any spiritual blessings from either from the Pope or any Cardinals or Bishops. So what we need to clearly understand is that we need not take in to consideration what this author has said. These are not the words of the Pope or any of the Vatican top brass.

But we need to give importance to what the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship as reported by the author and the faith blog. I am just copying from the article. “In 2001, when asked whether priests could still use the ad orientem posture in celebrating Mass, the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship replied that both postures, ad orientem and versus populum "are in accord with liturgical law; both are to be considered correct." In fact, the Congregation added, "there is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either position." This means we need not give importance to the position of the Celebrant of the Holy Mass. The Pope also never exhorted his colleagues and other persons of catholic hierarchy to say Holy Mass facing towards the wall.

If any of the readers of the article have thought that the Pope had said to say Holy Mass turning towards the wall is kindly understand the fact. He has not said like this. He may personally like to say Mass turning against the people. But that is not something to be acted upon.
The name of the real author of the article is Mr. Phil Lawler. He is friend of Rev. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf. To know more please, visit http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/01/phil-lawler-on-ad-orientem-worship/.

So I humbly request the extremists of Chaldean Traditions not to “take rope as soon as you hear a bull has delivered”. There is nothing binding on us, Syro Malabar Catholic Church.