Secretary returns to Ecclesia Dei Commission

On Saturday, August 3, 2013, the Ecclesia Dei Commission, the Vatican dicastery that supervises the observance and application of the norms in the 2007 motu proprio concerning the Traditional Latin Mass, welcomed back its secretary, Guido Pozzo.  As a monsignor he had served in that position from 2009 to 2012, during which time he coordinated the doctrinal discussions between the Society of Saint Pius X and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (to which Ecclesia Dei is directly attached).  In November of 2012 Msgr. Pozzo was appointed Almoner of His Holiness and was consecrated an archbishop (a title traditionally connected with that post). 

In April of this year Archbishop Pozzo was also named a consultor to the CDF, in which he had worked for years when it was headed by then-Cardinal Ratzinger.  As archbishop, Guido Pozzo has celebrated Pontifical High Mass several times in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.  On June 22, 2013, in the Church of the Santissima TrinitÀ dei Pellegrini in Rome, Abp. Pozzo ordained one priest for the Italian District of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter and two priests for the Transalpine Redemptorists—priests who will be dedicated to the preservation of the traditional Latin liturgy of the Church. 

The return of now-Archbishop Pozzo to the Ecclesia Dei Commission should be viewed as a positive development.  The position of secretary had previously never been held by a bishop.  Now, with its ex officio president, Abp. Gerhard Ludwig Müller (Prefect of the CDF), and its vice president, Abp. Augustine Di Noia, the Commission has three archbishops, which is a reflection on the significance of its work.  Most importantly, however, considering the reorganization of the Roman Curia being planned by Pope Francis, the Commission now has a secretary who is well acquainted with the religious communities and priestly societies that are devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and is himself sympathetic to the traditional liturgy.