Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce
XVIII General Assembly - 10th-11th November 2007 -

President's report by Jack P Oostveen, President from September 2006 till November 2007

Report by the President on the activities of the Federation since the previous General Assembly in 2005

Dear colleagues of the International Federation Una Voce.
Welcome to the General Assembly 2007. Welcome especially to all our friends from the new member associations as well for all those who join us for the first time to represent their associations.
Since October 2005, when Fra’ Fredrik Crichton-Stuart was elected Executive President of our Federation a lot has happened. After the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, and according to the presentation by Mgr. Perl at the Open Forum two years ago, the first signs of the coming changes were already being demonstrated. However, despite these signs who could have guaranteed two years ago that we would receive that Motu Proprio as published last July?
Therefore, first of all I would like to express our feelings of thankfulness to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for granting us such a document as the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The last two years have been very unsettled with many rumours and uncertainties.
Firstly, we have had to wait so long for the papal document during which time there have been many rumours about the publishing date. And, of course, there has been much debate about what should be written in that document. Finally, the document was published on July 7th this year. Uncertainties were raised because we had to wait so long and the resistance by some bishops and even several bishops’ conferences were so evidently present and so determined.
Secondly, because of the resignation of Fra’ Freddy I had to succeed him as being the senior Vice-President. My warmest feelings of gratefulness are directed to Fra’ Freddy for his effort in leading the Federation during that year of his presidency.
It was a task I did not expect, I did not apply for it, I did not nominate myself for the job. To be honest, at this moment I would not apply for being the President of the International Federation. Firstly I did not consider myself as the right person, and secondly, because of my busy job at the Delft University I would have waited at least for my retirement in 2012. Remembering the words of Michael Davies in 2003 the presidency is a full time job, therefore the president should be retired.
Nevertheless, now it has happened to me, now I am called to run that Presidency, I do not run away and so I am here with you as your Executive President, as your servant. Be assured I feel the responsibilities concerning this presidency, it is like a burden on my shoulder, because it is really a hard job. However I know that the Lord has granted me not only by forces needed to bear this load, but also by sending me people, who really did a great job to lighten this task. Therefore I am grateful to our Lord.

I am very grateful to Leo Darroch who offered his services as Secretary and Monika Rheinschmitt our Treasurer. Without their great support I could not have fulfilled this job well. During my period as Executive President since September 2006 we have worked closely together making a great effort as a team. And you can see from the President’s overview that this team has done a lot last year. This team has put the International Federation Una Voce at the front of the Traditional movement; we have extended the reputation of the International Federation Una Voce in Rome continuously. To this FIUV team, granted by a Prima Fila at the Wednesday General Audience on 13th June, our Holy Father himself mentioned for the first time that the Motu Proprio should come soon, before holidays.
Monika and Leo, thank you very much it is really a pleasure to work with both of you.
I am especially honoured to be the successor of two great men: Dr. Eric de Saventhem and Michael Davies, as well as being the President of the International Federation Una Voce; more so in this period during which we can harvest much of what they have sown in the past decades since 1967 concerning the liberalization of the Traditional Roman Rite.
Before giving some reflections on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, I will give you an overview on the main events of the past two years. Most of these events you can also find on the FIUV website that I put on the internet on December 2006.

• On 11th January 2006, through the good offices of Dr. Helmut Ruckriegel, a delegation representing the International Federation Una Voce was presented to Pope Benedict XVI at the end of his Wednesday public audience. The members of the delegation were Fra’ Fredrik Crichton-Stuart – President, Dr. Helmut Ruckriegel – Vice President, Count Neri Capponi – President d’Honneur, and Leo Darroch – Councillor. The members of the delegation were able to have several minutes conversation with Pope Benedict and presented His Holiness with a proposal for the benefit of the traditional movement. The members of the delegation felt that the talks were helpful to our case.
  
• On September 10th 2006, Fra’ Freddy resigned for personal reasons and in accordance with the statutes of the Federation, I, as the First Vice-President assumed the functions of the President for the remainder of the term of office.
  
• On 17th September 2006, on the occasion of the first traditional Holy Mass in Amsterdam at St. Agnes parish church for many years I had a meeting with Father John Berg, Superior of the Fraternity of St. Peter.
  
• Following the resignation of Fra’ Fredrik Crichton-Stuart as President and the installation of First Vice-President in his place it was decided to send a FIUV delegation urgently to Rome to meet Vatican officials. These meetings took place in Rome between 25th and 27th September 2006. Besides myself, the FIUV delegation consisted of Mr. Leo Darroch – Acting Secretary, Mrs. Monika Rheinschmitt – Treasurer, and Dr. Riccardo Turrini Vita, President of UV Italy.
  We visited Mgr. Camille Perl, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and also an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. At the Congregation for the Clergy we met His Eminence Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos who was accompanied by Mgr. Thomas Röhr of the Congregation and Fr. Luciano Alimandi, secretary of His Eminence. After this meeting we had another informal meeting with Mgr. Röhr. Further, we visited Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
  In view of the fact that our visit to Rome was arranged in haste we were surprised and gratified that we were so readily received by those whom we wished to see. But even more than this we were delighted with the manner in which we were received. Our reception was warm and welcoming and our conversations were relaxed and informative. During our visit to His Eminence Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos we also handed over a letter to our Holy Father supporting His Holiness against the attacks by the Islamists after the Regensburg lecture.
  
• On 14th October 2006 Una Voce Germany invited me for their General Assembly in Cologne and asked me for a small greeting talk.
  
• On 21st October 2006, for my orientation concerning my new state as Executive President, I convened an urgent Council meeting in London to consult with the Councillors, to report the January and September visits to Rome, and to discuss the actual situation concerning the rumours about the expected papal document. I have to acknowledge here the very kind help by the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales for paying in advance the conference expenses while our Treasurer was setting up our FIUV bank account.
  
• Because of the speculation on the document from Rome granting greater freedom for the traditional Roman Rite the Federation published a statement 6th November 2006. The Federation stated that it is quite distressing to many of the laity to note that most of the adverse comment is coming from clerics and religious whose prime concern should be one of obedience, leadership, and the care of souls. It is equally distressing that these adverse opinions are being expressed seemingly without any consultation with, or regard for the welfare of, their flocks.
  
• Following the very public statements of the bishops of eastern France in October 2006 and the comments of certain German bishops after their ad limina visits to Rome in November 2006 it appeared imperative that the FIUV made its voice heard in Rome to speak on behalf of the laity and those many faithful parish priests who wished to celebrate the traditional Mass with greater freedom. Together with Leo Darroch and Monika Rheinschmitt, I visited Rome again on 24th/25th November. We had meetings in the Congregation for the Clergy, The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, the Congregation for Divine Worship, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In order to restore the balance of the inaccurate picture presented in Rome by various prelates the FIUV delegates presented a dossier of the reality of life in many countries under the restrictions on the celebration of the traditional Mass imposed by the bishops’ conferences. The dossier included initial comments and then individual reports from many countries. In addition to copies of the dossier being presented in those congregations visited, a copy was also sent to Cardinal Bertone at the Secretariat of State. An encouraging response to this dossier was received from Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. On the first of December I received a letter from His Eminence in which he said:
  “Thank you for the documentation regarding the situation of the Mass celebrated according to the 1962 missal in several countries, produced by you. I assure you, the Holy See is laboring with regards to the priests and faithful to find a solution that will do justice to all who it concerns. Therefore several options are being examined in view of the good of the whole Church.”
  And so we demonstrated that the leadership of the Una Voce Federation will continue at every opportunity to represent the views of its members with the appropriate authorities in Rome.
  
• In January 2007 the FIUV joined with the other National manifestos and produced a statement of support for Pope Benedict XVI from the UK. This manifesto of 2007 was inspired by the petition of 1970 that produced the famous `Agatha Christie’ indult from Pope Paul VI.
  
• At the opportunity being at the other side of the Atlantic for my professional work, the Vancouver Traditional Mass Society invited me to be the guest speaker at their General Assembly on February 27th 2007. Unfortunately an appointment with the Board of Una Voce America had to be cancelled.
  
• On 28th April 2007 Pro Missa Tridentina invited me for their General Assembly in Kevelaer in Germany close to the Dutch border and asked me for a small greeting talk.
  
• From 11th to 13th June 2007 our FIUV team visited Rome for the third time within 9 months. We were received in a meeting by Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos and Mgr Perl of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei as well as by Archbishop Ranjith of the Congregation of Divine Worship. Further, on Wednesday morning 13th June we were at the General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI and were granted seats on the "Prima Fila" (="first row"). This gave us the opportunity of having some private words with the Holy Father for about five minutes at which His Holiness confirmed the publication of the Motu Proprio as “Soon, before summer”. Herewith, His Holiness confirmed the planned publication of the Motu Proprio by himself for the first time.
  
• Finally, on 7th July 2007 the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was published, incidentally, on my 60th birthday. On 9th July we gave out a public statement which you will have seen on our website. There is no need for me to read it out because it is on our website.
  
• Furthermore on 14th September 2007 when the Motu Proprio became active the International Federation Una Voce wrote to His Holiness a letter in his mother language, expressing the thankfulness of the Federation for granting the Church this document, by which the great Treasure of centuries has been returned into the Holy Catholic Church again.
  
• Most recently, on 15th October the Federation wrote to His Eminence Dario Cardinal Castrillon, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei a letter mentioning some texts published, which undermine the essence of the Motu Proprio. We begged His Eminence to safeguard the full integrity of the Missal of Pope John XXIII of 1962 and to issue in a clarification a statement that all celebrations of the Extraordinary form must be faithful to the rubrics and customs of that Missal as were required in 1962.

Since our last General Assembly in October 2005 we have had enquiries from the following nine countries: The Philippines, Mexico, Denmark, Croatia, Brazil, Honduras, Malta, Paraguay, and Spain (Madrid, Seville, and Malaga). A representative from Spain will address the Open Forum tomorrow and tell us about the great things that are now happening in that country. We are following up all these enquiries and some are at an advanced stage of becoming members. Things in Central and South America are particularly encouraging as we have about seven groups now in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Paraguay, and Columbia. Not all these groups are members but we are working with them and hopefully we will bring them all into the International Federation.
In your folders you will also find some interesting information provided by Oleg-Michael Martynov of Una Voce Russia on the situation in Russia and its neighbouring countries.

As I have already mentioned, since our last General Assembly October 2005, we have recently, at 7th July 2007, received a gift from our Holy Father, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, which became effective on 14th September. Certainly, this document, by which our Holy Father has liberalised the practice of the traditional Roman Rite, is one of the most important documents of recent times and good for the entire Church. By this Motu Proprio our Holy Father Benedict XVI has affirmed, what we have proclaimed and known to be true for many years, that the traditional Roman Liturgy was never abrogated. It has been made crystal clear that our stance all these years was correct and we were not being disobedient. His Holiness has re-opened the age-old treasury of the liturgical Tradition for the entire Church, after a 40-year period at which it seemed to be closed.

Finally, looking forward to the future, I believe there are certain matters that require urgent attention for the good of our Federation and its future effectiveness. Therefore, I have some proposals, which need to be considered and decided by the General Assembly and carried out by the next elected President and Council. The intention of these proposals is to make the Federation more efficient, to bring the work of the Federation more closely to its member associations, and to spread the working load. Further, the President can give more attention to his international and diplomatic responsibilities for the good of the Federation and the member associations.
The work of the Federation has increased hugely in the past year since I took over the Presidency and the promulgation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum will bring even more demands upon our time. It is no longer possible for the bulk of the administrative work to be carried out by only the President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The FIUV Council must be more than a consultative body – it must consist of members who will each take a particular responsibility and undertake work as directed by the President. The Council has to be a team.

It is for this reason; I propose to establish a number of working committees as stated on the agenda for today. We need a working group concerning the implementation of the Motu Proprio and another one specifically on the Liturgical matter concerning the statement in the accompanying letter to the Bishops. “…. For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal.  The “Ecclesia Dei” Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior, will study the practical possibilities in this regard. …..“. We have to be very careful in this matter, but we cannot deny or neglect these words of our Holy Father. We do not want decisions being taken without us so we have to be there too. Other proposals are to establish working committees on the statutes, the admission of new members, and FIUV electronic communication tools. The President also needs the authority to install ad hoc working groups. This all will be explained later at this General Assembly.

So far the President’s report on the last two years.