Two "Laws of Praying," One "Law of Believing": A Reflection on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

Abstract

Pope Benedict XVI, in Summorum Pontificum, asserts that while the Roman Missal of 1962 and the Roman Missal of 1970 are two expressions of the Church's one lex orandi, they constitute only one lex credendi. But the contrary seems to be the case: namely, that these two missals constitute two very different ways of believing. In this article the dilemma is resolved by having recourse to Cipriano Vagaggini's distinction between faith in the broad sense (the whole range of beliefs and religious practice) and faith in the narrow sense (dogmatic definitions, or "divine and Catholic faith"). It would seem that Pope Benedict is advocating liturgical pluralism, as long as the divine and Catholic faith is preserved intact.