Cardinal Arinze reassures validity of Vatican II’s liturgical reform

Vatican City, Apr 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm

During the presentation of a new book commemorating Vatican II’s document on the Sacred Liturgy, Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments,  reaffirmed on Friday “the validity of the directives” of the Council regarding the liturgy.

Cardinal Arinze presented on April 2 at the Vatican the book “Spiritus et Sponsa,” which collects the acts of the Commemorative Day of the 40th Anniversary of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy “Sacrosanctum concilium,” that took place in Rome on December 4, 2003.

Cardinal Arinze said that since“the liturgy is the highest expression of the mysterious reality of the Church,” the very first fruit of Vatican Council II was the document on the sacred liturgy, “Sacrosanctum concilium,” which was then followed by 15 other conciliar documents.

“Spiritus et Sponsa” is divided into two parts. The first consists of two documents of John Paul II:  the Apostolic Letter “Spiritus et Sponsa,” from which the new book takes its title, and a Chirograph dated November 22, 2003, which commemorates the centenary of St. Pius  X’s Motu Proprio “Tra le sollecetudini,” on sacred music.

The second part, said the cardinal, “moves in three directions,” offering a retrospective look at the past 40 years, reflections on the liturgy in the pontificate of John Paul II and a section dedicated entirely to sacred music.

This volume, stated Cardinal Arinze, “wishes to testify to the validity of the directives of Vatican Council II on the sacred liturgy” and “we also hope that this is a small step in promoting the liturgical and pastoral formation of the clergy, consecrated persons and all the lay faithful, in line with duties assigned them in ‘Pastor bonus’.”