https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/la/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html

Summorum Pontificum, Litterae Apostolicae Motu Proprio Datae, die septima m. Iulii, A.D. MMVII - Benedictus XVI | Benedictus XVI

Summorum Pontificum cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae».

Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquaeque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiae lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet» [1].

Inter Pontífices qui talem debitam curam adhibuerunt, nomen excellit sancti Gregorii Magni, qui tam fidem catholicam quam thesauros cultus ac culturae a Romanis in saeculis praecedentibus cumulatos novis Europae populis transmittendos curavit. Sacrae Liturgiae tam Missae Sacrificii quam Officii Divini formam, uti in Urbe celebrabatur, definiri conservarique iussit. Monachos quoque et moniales maxime fovit, qui sub Regula sancti Benedicti militantes, ubique simul cum Evangelii annuntiatione illam quoque saluberrimam Regulae sententiam vita sua illustrarunt, «ut operi Dei nihil praeponatur» (cap. 43). Tali modo sacra liturgia secundum morem Romanum non solum fidem et pietatem sed et culturam multarum gentium fecundavit. Constat utique liturgiam latinam variis suis formis Ecclesiae in omnibus aetatis christianae saeculis permultos Sanctos in vita spirituali stimulasse atque tot populos in religionis virtute roborasse ac eorundem pietatem fecundasse.

Ut autem Sacra Liturgia hoc munus efficacius expleret, plures alii  Romani Pontifices decursu saeculorum peculiarem sollicitudinem impenderunt, inter quos eminet Sanctus Pius V, qui magno cum studio pastorali, Concilio Tridentino exhortante, totum Ecclesiae cultum innovavit, librorum liturgicorum emendatorum et «ad normam Patrum instauratorum» editionem curavit eosque Ecclesiae latinae usui dedit.

Inter Ritus romani libros liturgicos patet eminere Missale Romanum, quod in romana urbe succrevit, atque succedentibus saeculis gradatim formas assumpsit, quae cum illa in generationibus recentioribus vigente magnam habent similitudinem.

«Quod idem omnino propositum tempore progrediente Pontifices Romani sunt persecuti, cum novas ad aetates accommodaverunt aut ritus librosque liturgicos determinaverunt, ac deinde cum ineunte hoc nostro saeculo ampliorem iam complexi sunt redintegrationem» [2]. Sic vero egerunt Decessores nostri Clemens VIII, Urbanus VIII, sanctus Pius X [3], Benedictus XV, Pius XII et beatus Ioannes XXIII.

Recentioribus autem temporibus, Concilium Vaticanum II desiderium expressit, ut debita observantia et reverentia erga cultum divinum denuo instauraretur ac necessitatibus nostrae aetatis aptaretur. Quo desiderio motus, Decessor noster Summus Pontifex Paulus VI libros liturgicos instauratos et partim innovatos anno 1970 Ecclesiae latinae approbavit; qui ubique terrarum permultas in linguas vulgares conversi, ab Episcopis atque a sacerdotibus et fidelibus libenter recepti  sunt. Ioannes Paulus II, tertiam editionem typicam Missalis Romani recognovit. Sic Romani Pontifices operati sunt ut «hoc quasi aedificium liturgicum [...] rursus, dignitate splendidum et concinnitate» appareret [4].

Aliquibus autem in regionibus haud pauci fideles antecedentibus formis liturgicis, quae eorum culturam et spiritum tam profunde imbuerant, tanto amore et affectu adhaeserunt et adhaerere pergunt, ut Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II, horum fidelium pastorali cura motus, anno 1984 speciali Indulto "Quattuor abhinc annos", a Congregatione pro Cultu Divino exarato, facultatem concessit utendi Missali Romano a Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito; anno autem 1988 Ioannes Paulus II iterum, litteris Apostolicis "Ecclesia Dei" Motu proprio datis, Episcopos exhortatus est ut talem facultatem late et generose in favorem omnium  fidelium id petentium adhiberent.

Instantibus precibus horum fidelium iam a Praedecessore Nostro Ioanne Paulo II diu perpensis, auditis etiam a Nobis Patribus Cardinalibus in Concistorio die XXIII mensis martii anni 2006 habito, omnibus mature perpensis, invocato Spiritu Sancto et Dei freti auxilio, praesentibus Litteris Apostolicis DECERNIMUS quae sequuntur:

Art. 1. Missale Romanum a Paulo VI promulgatum ordinaria expressio "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae catholicae ritus latini est. Missale autem Romanum a S. Pio V promulgatum et a B. Ioanne XXIII denuo editum habeatur uti extraordinaria expressio eiusdem "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae et ob venerabilem et antiquum eius usum debito gaudeat honore. Hae duae expressiones "legis orandi" Ecclesiae, minime vero inducent in divisionem "legis credendi" Ecclesiae; sunt enim duo usus unici ritus romani.

Proinde Missae Sacrificium, iuxta editionem typicam Missalis Romani a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgatam et numquam abrogatam, uti formam extraordinariam Liturgiae Ecclesiae, celebrare licet. Conditiones vero a documentis antecedentibus "Quattuor abhinc annos" et "Ecclesia Dei" pro usu huius Missalis statutae, substituuntur ut sequitur:

Art. 2. In Missis sine populo celebratis, quilibet sacerdos catholicus ritus latini, sive saecularis sive religiosus, uti potest aut Missali Romano a beato Papa Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito, aut Missali Romano a Summo Pontifice Paulo VI anno 1970  promulgato, et quidem qualibet die, excepto Triduo Sacro. Ad talem celebrationem secundum unum alterumve Missale, sacerdos nulla eget licentia, nec Sedis Apostolicae nec Ordinarii sui.

Art. 3. Si communitates Institutorum vitae consecratae atque Societatum vitae apostolicae iuris sive pontificii sive dioecesani quae in celebratione conventuali seu "communitatis" in oratoriis propriis celebrationem sanctae Missae iuxta editionem Missalis Romani anno 1962 promulgatam habere cupiunt, id eis licet. Si singula communitas aut totum Institutum vel Societas tales celebrationes saepe vel habitualiter vel permanenter perficere vult, res a Superioribus maioribus ad normam iuris et secundum leges et statuta particularia decernatur.

Art. 4. Ad celebrationes sanctae Missae de quibus supra in art. 2 admitti possunt, servatis de iure servandis, etiam christifideles qui sua sponte id petunt.

Art. 5, § 1. In paroeciis, ubi coetus fidelium traditioni liturgicae antecedenti adhaerentium stabiliter exsistit, parochus eorum petitiones ad celebrandam sanctam Missam iuxta ritum Missalis Romani anno 1962 editi, libenter suscipiat. Ipse videat ut harmonice concordetur bonum horum fidelium cum ordinaria paroeciae pastorali cura, sub Episcopi regimine ad normam canonis 392, discordiam vitando et totius Ecclesiae unitatem fovendo.

§ 2. Celebratio secundum Missale B. Ioannis XXIII locum habere potest diebus ferialibus; dominicis autem et festis una etiam celebratio huiusmodi fieri potest.

§ 3. Fidelibus seu sacerdotibus id petentibus, parochus celebrationes, hac in forma extraordinaria, permittat etiam in adiunctis peculiaribus, uti sunt matrimonia, exsequiae aut celebrationes occasionales, verbi gratia peregrinationes.

§ 4. Sacerdotes Missali B. Ioannis XXIII utentes, idonei esse debent ac iure non impediti.

§ 5. In ecclesiis, quae non sunt nec paroeciales nec conventuales, Rectoris ecclesiae est concedere licentiam de qua supra.

Art. 6. In Missis iuxta Missale B. Ioannis XXIII celebratis cum populo, Lectiones proclamari possunt etiam lingua vernacula, utendo editionibus ab Apostolica Sede recognitis.

Art. 7. Ubi aliquis coetus fidelium laicorum, de quo in art. 5 § 1 petita a parocho non obtinuerit, de re certiorem faciat Episcopum dioecesanum. Episcopus enixe rogatur ut eorum optatum exaudiat. Si ille ad huiusmodi celebrationem providere non vult res ad Pontificiam Commissionem "Ecclesia Dei" referatur.

Art. 8. Episcopus, qui vult providere huiusmodi petitionibus christifidelium laicorum, sed ob varias causas impeditur, rem Pontificiae Commissioni "Ecclesia Dei" committere potest, quae ei consilium et auxilium dabit.

Art. 9, § 1. Parochus item, omnibus bene perpensis, licentiam concedere potest utendi rituali antiquiore in administrandis sacramentis Baptismatis, Matrimonii, Poenitentiae et Unctionis Infirmorum,  bono animarum id suadente.

§ 2. Ordinariis autem facultas conceditur celebrandi Confirmationis sacramentum utendo Pontificali Romano antiquo, bono animarum id suadente.

§ 3. Fas est clericis in sacris constitutis uti etiam Breviario Romano a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgato.

Art 10. Fas est Ordinario loci, si opportunum iudicaverit, paroeciam personalem ad normam canonis 518 pro celebrationibus iuxta formam antiquiorem ritus romani erigere aut rectorem vel cappellanum nominare, servatis de iure servandis.

Art. 11. Pontificia Commissio "Ecclesia Dei" a Ioanne Paulo II anno 1988 erecta [5], munus suum adimplere pergit.

Quae Commissio formam, officia et normas agendi habeat, quae Romanus Pontifex ipsi attribuere voluerit.

Art. 12. Eadem Commissio, ultra facultates quibus iam gaudet, auctoritatem Sanctae Sedis exercebit, vigilando de observantia et applicatione harum dispositionum.

Quaecumque vero a Nobis hisce Litteris Apostolicis Motu proprio datis decreta sunt, ea omnia firma ac rata esse et a die decima quarta Septembris huius anni, in festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis, servari iubemus, contrariis quibuslibet rebus non obstantibus.

Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die septima mensis Iulii, anno Domini MMVII, Pontificatus Nostri tertio.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

---

[1]  Institutio generalis Missalis Romani, Editio tertia, 2002, 397

[2] Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

[3] Ibid.

[4] S. Pius PP. X, Litt. Ap. Motu proprio datae Abhinc duos annos (23 Octobris 1913): AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cfr Ioannes Paulus II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

[5] Cfr Ioannes Paulus PP. II, Litt. ap. Motu proprio datae Ecclesia Dei (2 Iulii 1988), 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html

Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the "Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970" (July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI

POPE BENEDICT XVI

APOSTOLIC LETTER
GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY
PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970

The Supreme Pontiffs have to this day shown constant concern that the Church of Christ should offer worthy worship to the Divine Majesty, "for the praise and glory of his name" and "the good of all his holy Church."

As from time immemorial, so too in the future, it is necessary to maintain the principle that "each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally received from apostolic and unbroken tradition.  These are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided, but also that the faith may be handed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of faith (lex credendi)." [1]

Eminent among the Popes who showed such proper concern was Saint Gregory the Great, who sought to hand on to the new peoples of Europe both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture amassed by the Romans in preceding centuries.  He ordered that the form of the sacred liturgy, both of the sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office, as celebrated in Rome, should be defined and preserved.  He greatly encouraged those monks and nuns who, following the Rule of Saint Benedict, everywhere proclaimed the Gospel and illustrated by their lives the salutary provision of the Rule that "nothing is to be preferred to the work of God."  In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman usage, enriched the faith and piety, as well as the culture, of numerous peoples.  It is well known that in every century of the Christian era the Church's Latin liturgy in its various forms has inspired countless saints in their spiritual life, confirmed many peoples in the virtue of religion and enriched their devotion.

In the course of the centuries, many other Roman Pontiffs took particular care that the sacred liturgy should accomplish this task more effectively.  Outstanding among them was Saint Pius V, who in response to the desire expressed by the Council of Trent, renewed with great pastoral zeal the Church's entire worship, saw to the publication of liturgical books corrected and "restored in accordance with the norm of the Fathers," and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

Among the liturgical books of the Roman rite, a particular place belongs to the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and over the centuries gradually took on forms very similar to the form which it had in more recent generations.

"It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and, when necessary, clarified.  From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform." [2]  Such was the case with our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, Saint Pius X [3], Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII.

In more recent times, the Second Vatican Council expressed the desire that the respect and reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. In response to this desire, our predecessor Pope Paul VI in 1970 approved for the Latin Church revised and in part renewed liturgical books; translated into various languages throughout the world, these were willingly received by the bishops as well as by priests and the lay faithful.  Pope John Paul II approved the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. In this way the Popes sought to ensure that "this liturgical edifice, so to speak ... reappears in new splendour in its dignity and harmony." [4]

In some regions, however, not a few of the faithful continued to be attached with such love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms which had deeply shaped their culture and spirit, that in 1984 Pope John Paul II, concerned for their pastoral care, through the special Indult Quattuor Abhinc Annos issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty of using the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed John XXIII.  Again in 1988, John Paul II, with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, exhorted bishops to make broad and generous use of this faculty on behalf of all the faithful who sought it.

Given the continued requests of these members of the faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and having listened to the views expressed by the Cardinals present at the Consistory of 23 March 2006, upon mature consideration, having invoked the Holy Spirit and with trust in God's help, by this Apostolic Letter we decree the following:

Art 1.  The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi (rule of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite.  The Roman Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V and revised by Blessed John XXIII is nonetheless to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honoured for its venerable and ancient usage.  These two expressions of the Church's lex orandi will in no way lead to a division in the Church's lex credendi (rule of faith); for they are two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is therefore permitted to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal, which was promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Church's Liturgy.  The conditions for the use of this Missal laid down by the previous documents Quattuor Abhinc Annos and Ecclesia Dei are now replaced as follows:

Art. 2.  In Masses celebrated without a congregation, any Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use either the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII or the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and may do so on any day, with the exception of the Easter Triduum.  For such a celebration with either Missal, the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary.

Art. 3.  If communities of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, wish to celebrate the conventual or community Mass in their own oratories according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, they are permitted to do so.  If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to have such celebrations frequently, habitually or permanently, the matter is to be decided by the Major Superiors according to the norm of law and their particular laws and statutes.

Art. 4.  The celebrations of Holy Mass mentioned above in Art. 2 may be attended also by members of the lay faithful who spontaneously request to do so, with respect for the requirements of law.

Art. 5, §1  In parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly accede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal.  He should ensure that the good of these members of the faithful is harmonized with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.

§2  Celebration according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII can take place on weekdays; on Sundays and feast days, however, such a celebration may also take place.

§3  For those faithful or priests who request it, the pastor should allow celebrations in this extraordinary form also in special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.

§4  Priests using the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be qualified (idonei) and not prevented by law.

§5  In churches other than parish or conventual churches, it is for the rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6.  In Masses with a congregation celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII, the readings may be proclaimed also in the vernacular, using editions approved by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7.  If a group of the lay faithful, as mentioned in Art. 5, §1, has not been granted its requests by the parish priest, it should inform the diocesan bishop.  The bishop is earnestly requested to satisfy their desire.  If he does not wish to provide for such celebration, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

Art. 8.  A bishop who wishes to provide for such requests of the lay faithful, but is prevented by various reasons from doing so, can refer the matter to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which will offer him counsel and assistance.

Art. 9, §1  The parish priest, after careful consideration, can also grant permission to use the older ritual in the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance and Anointing of the Sick, if advantageous for the good of souls.

§2  Ordinaries are granted the faculty of celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation using the old Roman Pontifical, if advantageous for the good of souls.

§3  Ordained clerics may also use the Roman Breviary promulgated in 1962 by Blessed John XXIII.

Art. 10.  The local Ordinary, should he judge it opportune, may erect a personal parish in accordance with the norm of Canon 518 for celebrations according to the older form of the Roman rite, or appoint a rector or chaplain, with respect for the requirements of law.

Art. 11.  The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II [5], continues to exercise its function.  The Commission is to have the form, duties and regulations that the Roman Pontiff will choose to assign to it.

Art. 12.  The same Commission, in addition to the faculties which it presently enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See in ensuring the observance and application of these norms.

We order that all that we have decreed in this Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio take effect and be observed from the fourteenth day of September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the present year, all things to the contrary notwithstanding.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on the seventh day of July in the year of the Lord 2007, the third of our Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

---

[1] General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, 397. 

[2] JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Vicesimus Quintus Annus (4 December 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

[3] Ibid. 

[4] SAINT PIUS X, Apostolic Letter given Motu Propio Abhinc Duos Annos (23 October 1913): AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Vicesimus Quintus Annus (4 December 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

[5] Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei (2 July 1988), 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

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New Liturgical Movement: TLM Celebrants: Keep Doing the Readings in Latin — Add Vernacular as Appropriate

https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/07/tlm-celebrants-keep-doing-readings-in.html?m=1#disqus_thread

TLM Celebrants: Keep Doing the Readings in Latin — Add Vernacular as Appropriate

The new Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes is illicit on numerous grounds and should be ignored or resisted rather than accepted and implemented. However, it would take a much longer article to make the case for this position in a way that would be convincing to most or all of my readers. Besides, whatever we may think of the motu proprio, it is upon us, and we cannot stop it from being treated as law, at least by some, until a future pope rescinds this act of violence so contrary to the common good of the Church.

As bishops scramble to come up with temporary policies (since, contrary to all custom, courtesy, and prudence there was no "vacatio legis" that gave them time to prepare for its implementation) and then settle on permanent policies, we must be aware of some of the problems that will arise — problems caused in part by what appears to be an almost total ignorance of how the traditional Latin Mass actually functions in practice.

A case in point is Article 3 §3, which states "In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences." This statement should be interpreted as generously as possible.

1. Note that the formulation does not prohibit (nor could it) the reading or chanting of the readings in Latin, as included in the official liturgical books of the Missale Romanum of 1962 (and preceding years), following immemorial tradition. The Epistle and the Gospel may still be read or chanted in Latin, and ought to be — not least because of the pastoral expectations of the people, who have come for the Church's official liturgy, not for substituted vernacular readings.

Here is the moment to "proclaim the readings" in the vernacular

2. What this statement would require, strictly speaking, is that in celebrations according to the old missal, readings shall be proclaimed in the vernacular language at some point. In keeping with longstanding custom, this can surely be from the pulpit before the homily, when there is a homily. But it is always understood, as in the liturgical legislation for the Novus Ordo, that an extra step like this may, "for appropriate pastoral reasons," be omitted. The motu proprio says "the readings are proclaimed" and not "must be proclaimed": the former grammar describes a generic state of affairs compatible with something not being done every time.

3. The classical Roman Rite has its own official liturgical books for the chanting of the Epistle by the subdeacon and the Gospel by the deacon at the solemn Mass. Since it is a non-negotiable principle that liturgical texts should be read in their integrity and liturgical books utilized as per the ceremonial, in a solemn Mass it is clear that the Epistle and Gospel must be chanted in Latin. Similarly, the altar missal used by the priest at Low Mass or at a Missa cantata has the proper readings printed in it as integral parts of the texts of the day's Mass, and therefore they too should be read or sung at the appropriate time from the missal (or from a book that exactly reproduces the readings of the missal), NOT read or sung in translation. A translation may be read later from the pulpit.

4. Translations into modern vernacular languages currently approved for the Novus Ordo Missae do not match the readings printed in the Missale Romanum of 1962 or earlier years. The vocabulary of the old Vulgate and the new translations based on (sometimes questionable) modern biblical scholarship are sufficiently different that one would be hard-pressed to maintain their exact equivalency. As a frequent reader of NLM pointed out, the New American Bible significantly departs from the Vulgate in the psalms and in bits like the Johannine Comma read on Low Sunday, which is altogether absent from the NAB. Someone who read only the NAB (quod absit) would therefore be violating the spirit and the letter of the liturgical celebration, contrary to liturgical laws of universal application. Furthermore, the NAB as used at Mass is not the same as what is sold by publishers, nor is it what will be used in the new translation of the Liturgy of the Hours and the new edition of psalms for the lectionary, which have been revised. In other words, at least in the USA, matching a currently approved vernacular edition to the lections of the old Missale Romanum would be to some extent impossible, and in any case a complicated business and pastorally inopportune.

Readings in the old rite are done from specialized liturgical books (and, at a low Mass, that book is the altar missal!)

5. Prior to the liturgical reform, the Church had already approved translations for liturgical use that actually correspond to the content of the old missal, such as the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine New Testament, which is a straight modification of the Douai-Rheims. To read from this would technically be to read from a version that has won the approval of the US bishops at the time that corresponds to the missal in use. There may be other versions printed in hand missals that would be suitable for their quasi-liturgical function prior to the sermon.

6. There are many ironies in Traditionis Custodes. One of them is that Article 3 §3 seems to wish to require for the old Mass something that is not even required in the new Mass. It is a perfectly licit option, although exceedingly rare, for the readings at the Novus Ordo to be done entirely in Latin (said or sung), with no translation being given. Indeed, according to its governing rubrics, one could licitly celebrate an entire Mass in English but do the readings in Latin. Needless to say, no one does this, but it is compatible with the rubrics and the pertinent canon law. It seems strange to require at the old Mass something that is not even obligatory for the new.

I write this article because, in the flurry of reactions to the motu proprio online, I see a disturbing lack of imagination and flexibility among some, who do not seem to understand the nuanced reading one must bring to every piece of legislation. In particular, they seem to think that it is not a great loss to substitute vernacular readings for Latin ones. This, however, would be both a mistaken reaction to the motu proprio and a mistake in liturgical praxis itself. It is crucial, whatever we do, not to lose the tradition of reciting or chanting the readings in Latin in the Mass of the traditional Roman Rite. This is a non-negotiable part of its heritage; it is an element in the integrity of the Missale Romanum and has a theological meaning that we would do well to rediscover at this inauspicious moment.

The liturgy of the Mass is a seamless Latin garment, from Psalm 42 all the way to the Last Gospel

For further reading on the subject:

• "In Defense of Preserving Readings in Latin" (Latin Mass Magazine)
• "Why Latin is the correct and fitting language of the Roman Catholic liturgy" (LifeSiteNews)
• "Latin, the Ideal Liturgical Language of the West" (chapter from my book Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis)
• "The Western Liturgy's 'Sonic Iconostasis': Latin, Chant, and Silence" (New Liturgical Movement)

Happy Easter

Resurréxi, et adhuc tecum sum, allelúia: posuísti super me manum tuam, allelúia: mirábilis facta est sciéntia tua, allelúia, allelúia.

‘Great Reset’ Plan Parallels Some of Pope’s Initiatives — But There’s a Crucial Difference| National Catholic Register

https://www.ncregister.com/news/great-reset-plan-parallels-some-of-pope-s-initiatives-but-there-s-a-crucial-difference

'Great Reset' Plan Parallels Some of Pope's Initiatives — But There's a Crucial Difference

Like the plan's promoters, the Holy Father also believes the global economy needs to be reshaped coming out of the pandemic; but unlike them, his vision is anchored in God's grace.

Edward PentinFebruary 4, 2021

VATICAN CITY — Since it first came to public attention in June 2020, much discussion has surrounded the "Great Reset" — a global vision pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and supported by various world leaders to rebuild a society after COVID based on greater solidarity and a more sustainable economy.

Prominent backers include President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's Prince Charles. Each see it as a blueprint for "resetting capitalism," a chance to "build back better" after the global pandemic, and to set the world on a more environmentally friendly and sustainable path for which there is "no alternative." 

But many others have criticized the Great Reset's ambitions, including Brazil's minister of foreign affairs, Ernesto Araujo, who outright rejected it, saying that "totalitarian social control is not the remedy for any crisis," and the progressive author Naomi Klein, who is concerned it creates an "insidious" and "false impression" that global elites are serious about tackling the issues the Global Reset raises. In the Church, Cardinal Raymond Burke has called it a manipulative attack on freedom and the family.

More generally, critics see it as a flawed and dangerous agenda that paves the way for an autocratic global future more closely resembling the communist-capitalist system of an increasingly dominant China.

The Great Reset is the brainchild of professor Klaus Schwab, a German economist and founder of the WEF, an annual gathering of high-level business and political leaders that since 1971 has usually met in Davos, Switzerland.

According to the Great Reset's website, the project harbors a vision of the coronavirus crisis as having exposed "inconsistencies, inadequacies and contradictions" in social systems, but also providing a "unique window of opportunity" to shape the world. Specifically, the Great Reset advertises itself as an initiative to "build a new social contract that honors the dignity of every human being." 

To achieve that new social contract, the Great Reset's architects argue that the world "must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions." 

Schwab himself sees the predominant Western-based economic system, heavily laden with enormous debt estimated to be $277 trillion, as "not fit anymore for the 21st century" and in need of reform. The world, he believes, is entering what he calls a "Fourth Industrial Revolution" — a new era of paradigm change driven by technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and robotics — and needs to adapt accordingly. 

"With the economic emergency responses to the pandemic now in place, the opportunity can be seized to make the kind of institutional changes and policy choices that will put economies on a new path towards a fairer, greener future," Schwab writes in his 2020 book The Great Reset, co-authored by French economist Thierry Malleret. "Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed."

The Register contacted the World Economic Forum several times for comment on the Great Reset initiative but received no response. 

Overlaps With Pope Francis' Approach

The theme of a "great reset" is not exclusive to the World Economic Forum. Others have called for some form of communitarian reset of values and institutions, including Pope Francis, who sees the pandemic as exposing capitalism's flaws. 

Having overseen his own hotly debated reset of the Church over the past eight years, the Pope has begun a number of initiatives along some of the same lines as Schwab. 

He has frequently expressed a wish for the world to take the opportunity to emerge better from the COVID crisis, including through his October 2020 social encyclical Fratelli Tutti (which the WEF read as proposing a reset similar to its own), his "Economy of Francesco" initiative in Assisi in November that proposed a "new economy" of "communal wealth," his U.N.-affiliated Global Compact for Education initiative, or the Vatican's collaboration with Mission 4.7, a U.N.-backed project that, like the Global Compact, aims to educate the world in sustainable lifestyles, gender equality and a culture of peace and nonviolence.

Also relevant to his vision for resetting the world's socioeconomic systems is Francis' new interview book with papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. Called Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, an excerpt of which was published in The New York Times, Francis' vision overlaps substantially with the Great Reset. "For me it's clear," Francis writes. "We must redesign the economy so that it can offer every person access to a dignified existence while protecting and regenerating the natural world." 

Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, sees other significant commonalities between the goals of the initiative and those of Pope Francis, and he also pointed to Francis' decision last year to create a commission to reflect on a new, post-pandemic "socio-economic-cultural future" and propose "relevant approaches." "The Vatican COVID-19 Commission," with its slogan "Prepare the Future," is led and run by the cardinal's dicastery. 

Cardinal Turkson told the Register Jan. 28 that the Vatican wishes to be "open" to such initiatives as the Great Reset, adding that such openness and engagement has its origins in the Second Vatican Council's call to be a "witness" and show "solidarity with humanity," he said. "The objective for us and from the point of view of Pope Francis is to reimagine a social order with more justice, equity, where social injustices are overcome," he said. This is why, he explained, his dicastery has "shared a lot of information with Davos, the U.N., about our approach," making it "very likely" that language of the Vatican and the WEF "now begins to be closer."   

Wrong Image of Humanity?

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said he welcomes economists and politicians meeting to discuss the world economy, as the economy must benefit everyone and not a select few. But he wonders what "image of humanity" is held by WEF members and those of other similar select groups. As for the initiatives such as the Great Reset, he takes a decidedly jaundiced view. 

Without directly referring to the initiative, he told the Register Jan. 29 that two sides — "profiteering capitalism, big-tech giants of Western countries" and the "communism of the People's Republic of China" — are today "converging and merging into a unified capital-socialism," producing a "new colonialism" that the Pope has "often warned against." 

The goal, Cardinal Müller believes, "is absolute control of thought, speech and action." 

"The homogenized man can be steered more easily," he added. "The Orwellian world of homo digitalis has begun. Through mainstreaming, total conformity of the consciousness of the masses is to be achieved via the media." And he recalled the 19th-century French polymath Gustave Le Bon who predicted such a situation in his book The Psychology of Crowds.  

Renato Cristin, professor of philosophical hermeneutics at the University of Trieste, Italy, noted that "the problem of conscience" has no mention in Schwab's book and that, by "subtracting elements of capitalism," it introduces "principles of another kind: socialist above all, and therefore statist." 

In its rejection of capitalism, the Great Reset has perhaps its greatest commonality with the vision of Pope Francis, according to Cristin, who describes the Pope as being generally sympathetic to initiatives that are "hostile to the capitalist system." 

This hasn't gone unnoticed by the World Economic Forum. An article on its website praised the Pope for his clear refutation in Fratelli Tutti of neoliberalism — today's market-oriented competitive economic system that aims to eliminate price controls, deregulate capital markets, lower trade barriers and reduce state influence in the economy. The Great Reset similarly rejects it. 

In other areas, Cristin believes Schwab's book "lacks certainties and clear ideas" on which to build the future, a symptom of what he calls a "disorientation" and "mark of chaos" that afflicts the Western world today. It produces a "nihilistic secularism," he believes, and "paves the way for a de-Christianized society" as well as "negative forces like Islamism." 

Rather than follow such initiatives, which he describes as theological-political visions linked to liberation theology, he believes the Church should apply the social doctrine of the Church "in its original and authentic formulation given by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum and by Pope John Paul II in his encyclicals Laborem Exercens and Centesimus Annus." The world, he said, needs "well-founded, solid, clear and effective" theories "that refer to the great values of the Western tradition" and which "really bring order to the world." 

But perhaps the most significant danger of the Great Reset initiative is its utopian-atheistic vision, according to some critics. Schwab and Malleret, for instance, never once mention God or religion in their book, or leave any room for the transcendent. 

History teaches that such omissions are not good omens, Cardinal Müller noted. Whenever man wanted "to recreate and redeem himself," he recalled, a monster has been created instead, citing as an example the "gruesome human experiment" of the communist Soviet Union that coincided with the industrial revolution. 

"That should have convinced us," he said, "that the utopia of a paradise on earth in any form results in the greatest crimes against humanity (denial of dissenters' freedom, destruction of labor, population reduction by abortion and euthanasia). Man's nature, wounded by sin, needs divine forgiveness. Only God's grace can redeem us and give us the 'freedom and glory of the children of God.'"

'Radical Difference'

Cardinal Turkson said that although the WEF and Pope Francis are both "talking about resetting the future" and see the present system as "flawed," the Pope is approaching it "rooted in the Scriptures, rooted in the grace of God, in Christ," but without imposing it. For this reason, Cardinal Turkson recognizes a potential conflict with the Great Reset's protagonists. 

"When we open ourselves to the grace of God, we're able to transcend, go beyond ourselves," he said. "That's the radical difference with their approach." 

As for the notion that the Great Reset is about establishing a new world order controlled by the elites, Cardinal Turkson blamed such theories on internet sites and a conspiracy theory that "used to be attributed to the Illuminati" — a Bavarian secret society founded in 1776 and similar to the Freemasons. 

Cristin also preferred not to speak of a "plot," only a "struggle for power" to build a "new world order." But if such a new order ever comes to fruition, "it will be a further contribution to global chaos," he predicted.  

Cardinal Müller expressed sympathy for those sounding the alarm about the Great Reset and recalled that totalitarian systems "have always denigrated any criticism as conspiracy and subversion." 

The many warnings of totalitarian rule in the 20th century "can hardly be discredited as conspiracy theories, since real political developments have proven them right," the German cardinal said. "Blind trust in the philanthropic attitude of the leaders of the Big Foundations and Open Societies is only possible with a completely naive denial of reality." 

Pope Francis recently reminded the faithful of such perennial dangers. 

Speaking at his weekly general audience on Jan. 27, the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz, Francis said remembering is not only "a sign of civilization," but also "means being careful because these things can happen again, beginning with ideological proposals that claim to save a people and ending by destroying a people and humanity."

"Be aware," he said, "of how this road of death, of extermination and brutality began."

Edward Pentin Edward Pentin began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for the Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.

RORATE CÆLI: Elisabetta Sala: Henry VIII, Gender and the Teaspoon Strategy

https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2021/02/elisabetta-sala-henry-viii-gender-and.html?m=1#more

Elisabetta Sala: Henry VIII, Gender and the Teaspoon Strategy

How were two dictatorial regimes like that of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I able to separate not only the kingdom of England, but also the people, from the Church of Rome?

Just fifty years ago it was generally thought that the Anglican "Reform" which  separated England from the Church of Rome had complied with the deep yearnings of the people, who, had painfully put up with the Roman yoke, and, at heart, would always have been anti-clerical, anti-monastic, anti-papal. Today, after years of meticulous research on this subject, we know for sure that it was not like that at all: the English for the entire Middle Ages were one of the most faithful people of all to the ancient faith, and, right before the Lutheran bomb exploded, English Catholicism experienced one of it phases of maximum splendor.

The question then is: how did two dictatorial  regimes – in a certain sense "antiquated", equipped by  a lingering primitive propagandistic system, as were those of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, manage to gain the upper hand over an entire nation?  It is true that the will of the sovereign at the time was law, but, it was known that an unhappy and exasperated population could give rise to frightening uprisings like those by the peasants in France (1358), England (1381) and Germany (1524-25).  If it is true that the people did not share the religious innovations dictated from the top, and cared about the salvation of the soul more than the caprices of sovereigns, how could they have accepted the schism? How could an entire nation have allowed itself to be led where it didn't want to go, to the point of forgetting its thousand-year-old roots and actually become what it is today, the cutting edge of secularism?

 Contemporary historians seem to agree about the multiplicity of strategies adopted by the English government,  mindful of the fact that the new doctrine took at least thirty-odd years to be formulated and at least seventy-odd to be digested by the people.

Naturally the first strategy was terror and the martyrdom of dissidents. It is true, martyrdom infuses courage in ardent souls, but terrorizes the faint-hearted. There were several revolts, including one on a huge scale, but they were all bloodily suppressed. 

The second, which was perhaps even more effective, was to hit people in their wallets. Penal laws and fines for recusants did away with the Catholic resistance's aura of heroism, which had covered the blood of the martyrs, and people began thinking that perhaps the future of their children needed a circumstantial visit to the parish church where the State administered the service.   

All of this resounds today.  In these dangerous times, it is good at the very least to ask ourselves some questions. How would I react if my beliefs are outlawed? (To give a concrete example – what  if a crime of opinion is introduced?)

The 'hitting the wallets' strategy is always fundamental in wearing down the opposition and  imposing the will of a minority in power, even in a hypocritical and antiseptic time such as hours, where we think we are living in a democracy merely because we don't risk ending  up swinging from the gallows. How many of us would heroically allow ourselves to be arrested rather than retract words we retain sacrosanct?  Many without doubt.   But how many of us  would be willing to bleed out slowly, our heroism not making the headlines, by dint of poverty-inducing fines? How many of us would be willing to lose our jobs, home and goods because we have "wrong-thinking" in regard to the totalitarian system?

Let us return to our Anglicans: the third strategy, the most important, was that of establishing the Reform (/NEW SETTLEMENT) step by step, by constantly making a mockery of the opposition, as if such  little steps would not merit a decisive resistance.  Let me put it in the words of a great historian, Christopher Haigh: "… the meal was more manageable when fed in tiny morsels, and the English ate their Reformation as a recalcitrant child is fed its supper, little by little, in well-timed spoonsful – 'one for Cardinal Wolsey [a worldly prelate], one for Queen Katherine [of Aragon], one for the pope, one for the monks, one for pilgrimages…' - until the plate had been emptied and Reformation had happened"*. Now, the strategy of the spoonful, or rather, the teaspoonful, is used  in our times and the most important are the ones administered  by the schools.   

Here's how it goes:

'Let me tell you a story.  Meantime here's another  teaspoonful: get it down you -    good!  Now I'll tell you the story of A COUPLE yearning for a child but couldn't have one… Another spoonful?  OK! Swallowed that?  Now one for Law 194 ** one for law 40*** one for "rent-a- uterus", one for homophobia… Ah you don't like that very much – do you ? But now I'll tell you the story of two people who loved each other very much, so, so very much…  Ah so here's another teaspoon for 'homosexual marriage' one for adoptions by homos, one for A BOY WHO FELT HE WAS LIVING IN A GIRL'S BODY …   Ah yes – and this one: once upon a time there was a sick little boy who was very, very unhappy…  So one for child euthanasia, one for adult euthanasia, one for the abandoned, suffering old people…. Ah good …you've emptied the plate!'

 

* C. HAIGH (ed.), The English Reformation Revised, CUP 1987, p. 15.

**The Abortion Law

***In-Vitro Fertilization Law

Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana

                                          

De Mattei: The Genealogy of the Italian Communist Party on the Centenary of its foundation (January 21,1921)

De Mattei: The Genealogy of the Italian Communist Party on the Centenary of its foundation (January 21,1921)


Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
January 20, 2021


The Italian Communist Party was founded at Livorno on January 21, 1921, as a result of a split in the Socialist Party. Its principal founders were Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), Palmiro Togliatti (1893-1964) and Amedeo Bordiga (1889-1970) subsequently expelled and subjected to damnatio memoriae, according to the typical internal dialectic of every Communist Party.

In 1917, the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. The Italian Communist Party was the Italian section of Komintern, the international organization founded in Moscow in 1919 with the aim of propagating the Communist Revolution in the world.

In the history of Communism, the Russian Revolution was a more important event than the publication of the Communist Party Manifesto when Karl Marx and Friederich Engels, in February 1848, launched an appeal to the proletariat of the entire world to bring down the bourgeoisie and create a "classless society".


Marx and Engels were commissioned [to write]The Communist Manifesto by the League of the Just, a secret revolutionary society and a subsidiary of The Sublime Perfect Masters created by Filippo Buonarroti and Adam Weishaupt's Illuminists of Bavaria. Among the direct precursors of Communism, Engels counts the Anabaptists, the Levellers of The English Revolution, the Illuminists of the 18th century and the Jacobins (L'evoluzione del socialismo dall'utopia alla scienza, Editori Riuniti, Roma 1958, pp. 15-17). Marx and Engels put together the legacy of these sects, but in order to achieve their goals, they heralded a new method of action, called "scientific socialism".

In the "eleventh thesis" of his comment on Feuerbach's philosophy, Marx sustains that the role of philosophers is not to interpret the world but to "transform it." (Materialismo dialettico e materialismo storico, La Scuola, Brescia 1962, pp. 81-86). This would seem to have been achieved in 1917, in Moscow, where, for the first time in history, Communism came to power and began its diffusion in the world. Stalin succeeded Lenin (after his death in 1924) eliminating Trotsky's dissidence which accused him of "betraying" the Revolution. In Italy, while Gramsci - imprisoned by Fascism - was elaborating his "philosophy of praxis" in his Quaderni dal carcere, Palmiro Togliatti, the most faithful among the Stalinists, led the Communist Party clandestinely and there after during the postwar period. With the help(even financial) of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party became the second Italian party after the Christian Democrats.

According to Gramsci, the success of the Communists was not possible in Italy without the collaboration of the Catholics. The betrayal of the "Catholic Democrats" was necessary not so much to gain power, but to keep it. "Catholic Democracy does what Communism could never do: it amalgamates, orders, vivifies and commits suicide (…) The working class is to the socialists what Kerensky was to Lenin (I popolari, in L'ordine nuovo, 1 novembre 1919). Togliatti applied Gramsci's lesson, in particular, when the election of John XXIII, and the Second Vatican Council opened by him on October 11, 1952, created an unexpected window of opportunity.

On March 7, 1963, John XXIII received in the Vatican, Alexis Adjubei - Khrushchev's son-in-law and Director of the Izvestija Agency. A few days later, Togliatti, in full election campaign, officially proposed a collaboration between Catholics and Communists (Rinascita, March 30, 1963). In the elections of April 29, The Italian Communist Party increased by a million votes, coming mainly from Catholic environments. Togliatti died in Yalta, in 1964, while the Christian Democratic Party was forming the first "centre-left" governments, with the blessing of the new Pontiff, Paul VI. The Second Vatican Council closed on December 8, 1965, not uttering a single word about Communism, although almost 500 Council Fathers had asked for its official condemnation.

In 1973, after the rise and fall of the Socialist-Communist government of Salvador Allende in Chile, the new Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, Enrico Berlinguer (1922-1984), published in the Party's magazine Rinascita, a series of Reflections on Italy after the events in Chile, wherein he put forward a proposal of "historical compromise" that would bring the Communists to the government painlessly, with the backing of the Christian Democrats. Berlinguer's main contact was Aldo Moro, who enjoyed the complete trust of Paul VI and who [subsequently] began constructing ground for a government with the Communists.

The years between 1974 and 1976 were the most successful electorally for the Italian Communist Party, and in the elections of June 21, 1976, it gained 34.4% of the votes expressed. However, in 1978, the tragic death of Aldo Moro, followed a few months later by that of Paul VI, slowed down the realization of the historical compromise, while in the Soviet Union, struck by a colossal economic crisis, Mikail Gorbachev's perestroika was being formed. In 1989, there was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union began its auto-dissolution. "The way the decomposition of the Soviet Union and accordingly its empire happened, remains mysterious" writes Francois Furet in his study on Il passato di un'illusione (Mondadori, Milano 1995, p. 354). With no bloodshed, between 1989 and 1991, the Soviet nomenclature disbanded the old company, and put itself at the head of the new one. Communism freed itself of its bureaucratic apparatus, in Russia and in the World, giving the impression that the Communist idea could have its say in new forms and modalities of action.

On February 3, 1991, also the Italian Communist Party deliberated its own disbandment, consequently promoting the constitution of the Leftist Democratic Party (PDS). On February 14, 1998, The PDS, at the end of the States General of the Left, again changed its name to Democrats of the Left (DS), a team that was, in turn, the founder of the Ulivo, created under the initiative of Romano Prodi, who finally got the Communists into the government in 1996. The Ulivo then merged into the Democratic Party (PD) founded in 2007 and today now governs.

The ideological roots of these groups and parties following one another over the last thirty years is Marxist-Leninist, refined by the teachings of Antonio Gramsci and the Catho-Communist praxis of Enrico Berlinguer, which still enjoys great popularity even among those that should be its enemies. Eugenio Scalfari, in commemorating the 35 years since Berlinguer's death, wrote that "Enrico Berlinguer had a role in Italian politics (and not only there) in some way similar to what Pope Francis is having today in the Catholic religion (and not only there). Both have followed a path of such radical reformism, producing revolutionary effects; both have been loved and respected even by their adversaries: both have the charisma that grasped reality and fostered a dream." (La Repubblica, June 9, 2019).

For Pope Francis, likewise for Berlinguer, praxis is more important than doctrine, action more than thought, the result more that the means of reaching it. In an essay on Lenin and Our Party, published in the May 1960 edition of Rinascita, Palmiro Togliatti summed up the essence of Marxist-Leninism in a quotation by Marx and Engels: "Our theory is not a dogma, but a guide to action".

Communism is not theory, it is revolutionary praxis, and the Revolution doesn't create but destroys. All that matters is to bring down the enemy, which is always: the family, private property, the State and the Church. Any metamorphosis, any alliance is licit. Those who collaborate in this enterprise are welcome and whatever means necessary are used to attain the goal. The genealogical research of the Italian Communist Party, helps us to understand the continuity that still exists today among its forefathers and their descendants.

Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana

Puer natus est nobis