In a stunning press conference given in England during his visit to that country, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, said that, according to The Telegraph, all seminaries must teach priests to say the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form. Additionally, he said that this Mass will return to every parish.

[Telegraph]The traditional Latin Mass – effectively banned by Rome for 40 years – is to be reintroduced into every Roman Catholic parish in England and Wales, the senior Vatican cardinal in charge of Latin liturgy said at a press conference in London today.

In addition, all English seminaries must teach trainee priests how to say the old Mass so that they can celebrate it in all parishes. Catholic congregations throughout the world will receive special instruction on how to appreciate the old services, formerly known as the Tridentine Rite.

Pope Benedict now clearly intendeds to go much further in promoting the ancient liturgy. Asked whether the Latin Mass would be celebrated in many ordinary parishes in future, Cardinal Castrillon said: “Not many parishes – all parishes. The Holy Father is offering this not only for the few groups who demand it, but so that everybody knows this way of celebrating the Eucharist.

There have been hints of this in some of the responses to questions coming out of the PCED, but this is the most sweeping public statement to date on the re-introduction of the Traditional Mass. They also seem to be giving the Mass a name change.

Pope Benedict will reintroduce the old rite – which the Cardinal said should be known as the “Gregorian Rite” – even where the congregation has not asked for it. “People don’t know about it, and therefore they don’t ask for it,” he explained. The revised Mass, adopted in 1970 after the Second Vatican Council, had given rise to “many, many, many abuses,” added the Cardinal.

The Cardinal made sure that everyone understood that this is not intended to replace the new mass, but compliment it.

However, the new rite – in which the priest faces the people and speaks in the vernacular – will definitely not be phased out. The Pope wishes to see the two forms of Mass existing happily side by side.

The Cardinal admitted that such a change does not happen overnight but that it will happen.

The changes will take a few years to implement fully, he added, just as the Second Vatican Council had taken a long time to absorb. He insisted that the widespread reintroduction of the old Mass did not contradict the teachings of the Council.

The fact that the Cardinal made this announcement in England, the land where the Bishops have just about ignored Summorum Pontificum, is as striking as it is amazing! This statement by the Cardinal for the Vatican, if accurately reported, has the potential to be one of the most pivotal events of this pontificate and even of this generation. Stay Tuned!

Update:The Moment – Damian Thompson Speaks
—Journalist sets the scene when the Cardinal said “Latin Mass for All”