Ad Orientem Pushback, or This Is Why We Cannot Have Sacred Things

Photo of Fr. Francisco by (who else?) Gwen Linde.

I suppose it was too much to hope that Cdl. Robert Sarah's recommendation to return to ad orientem worship be received with open arms. His Eminence elaborated further earlier this month in a talk called "Towards An Authentic Implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium".

To be fair, His Eminence was not mandating ad orientem worship, merely explaining that it was not forbidden. Reactions, however, have ranged from indifference to out and out defiance of the Prefect of the CDW. Here are but a few:

Battle Over "Ad Orientem" Mass Heats Up at Vatican

Shocking Developments From Westminster

Showdown in Arkansas over "Ad Orientem"

Letter from USCCB Commitee on Divine Worship on "Ad Orientem"

While RPC does not exist necessarily to promote ad orientem worship, we certainly support anything that makes the Sacrifice of the Mass more sacred than profane.