On the feast of St. Peter and Paul, on June 29, also on the eve of the anniversary of the Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter Desiderio desideravi (I earnestly desired), devoted primarily to the need for in-depth liturgical formation. Where does this interest in liturgy come from for the Pope who for many years of his pontificate seemed to be rather involved in other aspects of the life of the Church?
In an article published today by the Catholic News Agency entitled “Beauty, truth and unity: why Pope Francis is so concerned about the liturgy”, Father Dr. Dominik Jurczak OP of the Dominican Liturgical Center explains that this is an expression of the Pope’s concern for the cause of unity that is currently threatened by “liturgical wars.”
“We cannot use the liturgy as a weapon,” says a Dominican, liturgical lecturer at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome. – What we can do is organize debates on liturgical topics, we can discuss what aspect of liturgical renewal was carried out well and what was bad. But we must not disobey and use the liturgy to show that someone in the Church is not really part of it.”
The document has not yet been officially translated into Polish, but it is available in English, German, Spanish, French and Italian on the Vatican website. Its leading theme is not so much new legislation as the need for a broader understanding of the liturgy in the context of all four constitutions of the last Council. We encourage you to read the entire article in the Catholic News Agency, where, in addition to Fr. Jurczak, the importance of the publication of the Pope’s Apostolic Letter on liturgical formation is commented on by Fr. Giovanni Zaccaria from the University of Santa Croce in Rome and Valentina Angelucci, PhD student from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of San Anselmo.
