Austrian Liturgy Specialist Censured by Ratzinger

Allen, John L. JR., National Catholic Reporter

Told early church experience should not be used to evaluate later church practice

Insisting that the earliest layers of Christian tradition cannot be used to question later declarations of church authorities, the Vatican Dec. 6 issued a strongly worded 16-point censure of Austrian theologian Fr. Reinhard Messner, a little-known specialist in liturgical history.

The censure (formally called a "notification") appeared in German and Italian over two full pages of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, and was issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

The text said Messner had accepted the Vatican rebuke, and is now obliged to follow it in all future theological activity and publications.

Messner, 40, a professor of liturgical science at the University of Innsbruck, has been under investigation since January 1998. The two works at the heart of the inquest were written during his graduate studies before he became a professor …

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Publication information: Article title: Austrian Liturgy Specialist Censured by Ratzinger. Contributors: Allen, John L. JR. - Author. Magazine title: National Catholic Reporter. Volume: 37. Issue: 8 Publication date: December 15, 2000. Page number: 3. © 2009 National Catholic Reporter. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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