In a note made known today, the bishops of England and Wales thank the Pope for the Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum", issued on July 7th, and whose rules will come into force next September 14th. In particular, the bishops welcome the Papal emphasis "of the importance of unity within the Church, in the celebration of Eucharist". The request to be able to celebrate the Mass in Latin, too said the English bishops, "comes not just from the elderly people who grew up in the old tradition of the Eucharist celebration, but also from the young". Even though one may "foresee a few difficulties in receiving and carrying out the teaching of the Pope on the two forms of celebration of the Eucharist", declared Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, archbishop of Westminster and president of the above-mentioned Bishops’ Conference, and it is possible that "a few priests will not be able to meet the needs deriving from the real request for the extraordinary rite", the Motu Proprio rules "are perfectly clear" when they say that "the responsibility is up to the bishop, who will ask the Holy See for advice and help on their behalf".
