Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, Fr Thomas Reese, SJ, stated that liturgical reform was stalled by the papacies of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

True liturgical reform aims to "revise liturgical practices to allow people to celebrate their Christian faith in ways that better fit contemporary culture", Fr Reese said.

The former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, has been appointed Archbishop of Valencia in Spain.

The greatest challenge facing the new prefect is to develop a new way of managing liturgical change in the Church, Fr Reese said.

He proposed a "more intelligent and pastoral approach to liturgical change".

This would involve centres for liturgical research and development, market testing, and enculturation.

"What is needed are centres for liturgical R&D where scholars and artists can collaborate with a willing community in developing new liturgical practices," Fr Reese said.

"Seminaries and universities with liturgical scholars are obvious places for this, but some parishes might be willing to be beta sites for new practices, especially if they were allowed to give feedback."

"Once new liturgical practices are developed and accepted by Church officials, they should be market tested in a variety of pastoral settings before being offered to the rest of the Church," he added.

Fr Reese acknowledged the difficulty of achieving encultured liturgy in a multicultural setting.

Multiple liturgical forms to serve multiple cultures might be needed, he suggested.

"Enculturation is easier to talk about than to do, which is why we need centres for liturgical research and development," he said.

Fr Reese also called for the development of common liturgical texts with other churches.

He said the Vatican's worship congregation should function as a midwife to liturgical renewal and "stop playing liturgical cop".

"This means more consultation and entrusting more liturgical changes directly to episcopal conferences, which was the original intent of Vatican II, rather than micromanaging things from Rome."

While Pope Francis has no qualms about breaking liturgical rules for pastoral reasons, Fr Reese noted, "the bad news is there is no indication that liturgical renewal is a major priority [for him]".

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: PBS

After six years as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera has been appointed Archbishop of Valencia in Spain.

Cardinal Canizares told Vatican Insider that he had asked for a diocesan appointment.

Valencia is his home archdiocese and the cardinal said he told Pope Francis he wanted to live with the "smell of the sheep".

Cardinal Canizares said the congregation under his leadership has "worked to carry on the liturgical renewal prompted by the Second Vatican Council".

"We need to keep on working so that the Council is fully implemented in the liturgical field, according to what Benedict XVI stated: God is the subject of liturgy, not us. Liturgy is not an action of man, but an action of God," he said.

The cardinal said Pope Francis supported the work the congregation has been doing.

It is highly unusual that Cardinal Canizares's successor was not named when his Valencia appointment was announced.

According to a Catholic News Agency story, the next prefect at the Congregation for Divine Worship could be disclosed after an upcoming meeting of the council of cardinals advising Pope Francis.

That meeting is scheduled for September 15-17.

Another possibility is that the worship and saints causes congregations could be merged.

Supporting this proposition is that fact that Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has been only confirmed "ad interim" by Pope Francis, yet he has passed the age of retirement and his successor has not yet been appointed.

The current Archbishop of Valencia, Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra, has been appointed Archbishop of Madrid, making him the de facto leader of Spanish Catholicism.

Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, 78, has retired as Archbishop of Madrid.

Many saw Cardinal Canizares as his logical successor, so the way Pope Francis has made these appointments is telling.

Writing in the Boston Globe, John Allen stated there has long been a split among the Spanish bishops between those who favour dialogue with secularism and those who want to fight it.

While Cardinal Rouco embodied the confrontational option, Archbishop Osoro is associated with the moderate line and Cardinal Canizares was seen as a "little Ratzinger", Allen wrote.

Francis wants bishops who are orthodox in doctrine, but who are committed to dialogue and outreach, Allen added.

Sources

• ABC News
• Vatican Insider
• Catholic World News
• Catholic News Agency
• Boston Globe
• Image: The Journal