The Bugnini-Liturgy and the Reform of the Reform - MusicaSacra

a new construction invented on office desks or at conference tables, but
solely the Roman rite, the unbroken tradition represented in any form.
This does not mean that in my opinion the Roman liturgy ought to be
celebrated according to the Tridentine rite and without any changes. I do
not deny that a reform of the Roman liturgy was topical at the end of the
20 th century. Neither do I claim that a reform should have been based on
the Tridentine rite by all means. Yet in reality it should have started from the
Tridentine rite as a status quo and a liturgical order worth honoring, yielding
much fruit in the life of the Church even in our century, a cult deeply
rooted in the hearts and connected with the piety of the people. But the
Tridentine rite is no more than one and perhaps not the most perfect form
of the Roman liturgy. In a true "reform" the medieval traditions of the dioceses
and the orders, the relics of the Old Roman rite and, of course, certain
requirements of our age should have been taken into consideration.
All this could have been achieved without abandoning the domain of the
"Roman liturgy."
To sum up: By turning against the Tridentine rite the Bugnini liturgy
turned in fact against the whole Roman liturgical tradition. The Bugnini liturgy
cannot be placed in the same category with the family of the Roman
liturgy consisting of various partial traditions, homogeneous in essence and
nicely varied in detail. It fits more comfortably into the set of short-lived
renaissance, Neo-Gallican, "aufklarist" reform liturgies from the 16 th to the
18 th and 19 th centuries. This group of reform liturgies is the same which
provoked the resistance of the great personalities of the 19 th —20 th century
liturgical movement and which prompted them to evolve their own theology
and liturgical practice. It is a tragic fact that the liturgical movement was
defeated at the point when it "gained the victory."
2.
The Holy Week is one of the most important elements of our liturgy.
It is the center of the whole year and its condition influences the whole
liturgical life considerably. It is an exceptional period not only as regards its
contents but also in its liturgical forms, worthy of the contents. In establishing
the rite of the Holy Week some inner laws of the liturgy played a part in
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