The Ottaviani Intervention
Encyclopedia
The Ottaviani Intervention or Short Critical Study on the New Order of Mass was a study of 5 June 1969 written by twelve Roman Catholic theologians, who worked under the direction of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
. Cardinals Alfredo Ottaviani and Antonio Bacci
sent it to Pope Paul VI
with a covering letter of 25 September 1969. The study cast doubt on the orthodoxy of the Mass of Paul VI
, which had been promulgated by the Apostolic Constitution
Missale Romanum of 3 April 1969, though the definitive text, which took account of some of the criticisms of the Short Critical Study, had not yet appeared.
Pope Paul VI asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
, the department of the Roman Curia
that Ottaviani had earlier headed, to examine the Short Critical Study. It responded on 12 November 1969 that the document contained many affirmations that were "superficial, exaggerated, inexact, emotional and false".
A letter of 17 February 1970 signed by Cardinal Ottaviani and addressed to Gerard Lafond, was published in La Documentation catholique 67 (1970), pp. 215–216 and 343. It stated:
The letter also expressed regret on the part of the cardinal that his letter of 25 September 1969, which he did not disown, had been published:
Jean Madiran
, a traditionalist Catholic who was then founder-director of the review Itinéraires, which was condemned by the French episcopate in 1966, maintained that Itinéraires had received the cardinal's authorization to publish his letter to the Pope and suggested that Ottaviani had signed the letter to Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond, prepared by his secretary, without knowing its contents, since he was blind, as he had been already when he signed his letter to the Pope.
Cardinal Bacci, who also signed the covering letter, and the twelve authors of the intervention did not retract their statements, nor did Archbishop Lefebvre disown his connection with it. Nor, on the other hand, did Cardinal Ottaviani deny authorship of the letter to Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond.
Marcel Lefebvre
Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
. Cardinals Alfredo Ottaviani and Antonio Bacci
Antonio Bacci
Antonio Bacci was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of Briefs to Princes from 1931 to 1960, when he was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John XXIII...
sent it to Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
with a covering letter of 25 September 1969. The study cast doubt on the orthodoxy of the Mass of Paul VI
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
, which had been promulgated by the Apostolic Constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
Missale Romanum of 3 April 1969, though the definitive text, which took account of some of the criticisms of the Short Critical Study, had not yet appeared.
Pope Paul VI asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
, the department of the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
that Ottaviani had earlier headed, to examine the Short Critical Study. It responded on 12 November 1969 that the document contained many affirmations that were "superficial, exaggerated, inexact, emotional and false".
A letter of 17 February 1970 signed by Cardinal Ottaviani and addressed to Gerard Lafond, was published in La Documentation catholique 67 (1970), pp. 215–216 and 343. It stated:
The letter also expressed regret on the part of the cardinal that his letter of 25 September 1969, which he did not disown, had been published:
Jean Madiran
Jean Madiran
Jean Arfel , better known by his pen name Jean Madiran is a French nationalist and a traditionalist Catholic writer. He has also used the pen name Jean-Louis Lagor....
, a traditionalist Catholic who was then founder-director of the review Itinéraires, which was condemned by the French episcopate in 1966, maintained that Itinéraires had received the cardinal's authorization to publish his letter to the Pope and suggested that Ottaviani had signed the letter to Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond, prepared by his secretary, without knowing its contents, since he was blind, as he had been already when he signed his letter to the Pope.
Cardinal Bacci, who also signed the covering letter, and the twelve authors of the intervention did not retract their statements, nor did Archbishop Lefebvre disown his connection with it. Nor, on the other hand, did Cardinal Ottaviani deny authorship of the letter to Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond.