Papal Notes - Invocation of Ancestors Approved

They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

Psalm 106:28

 

 "Pope Francis is praising an inculturated African Mass rite as a

model for a proposed Amazonian indigenous rite even though the African eucharistic liturgy incorporates the pagan custom of "invocation of ancestors."

"The Zairean rite suggests a promising way also for the possible elaboration of an Amazonian rite," writes Francis in his preface for a new book titled Pope Francis and the Roman Missal of the Dioceses of Zaire: A Promising Rite for Other Cultures.

 

The Zairean Mass, sometimes called the "Congolese Mass," is "until now the only inculturated rite of the Latin Church approved after the Second Vatican Council," claims Vatican News — although the Vatican also approved "Twelve Points of Adaptation" for a Hinduized "Indian rite Mass" in 1969.

 

Commending the Zairean rite for its cultural vibrancy and

spirituality, Pope Francis says that the liturgical inculturation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is an invitation for enhancing the different gifts of the Holy Spirit, thus enriching humanity.

"Animated by religious songs with an African rhythm, the sound of drums and other musical instruments constitute real progress in the rooting of the Christian message in the Congolese soul. It is a joyful celebration. It is a true place of encounter with Jesus," observes Francis.

 Liturgists, however, are disturbed by pagan elements in the Zaire Mass, especially the rite of the "Invocation of the Ancestors of Upright Heart (invocation ancêtres au coeur droi),"— particularly as the congregation may even invoke their pagan ancestors.

 But Congolese Cdl. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya defended the "invocation of the ancestors" as calling upon "only those who have lived in an exemplary way, promoting unity and harmony of the group, inspiring respect for the elderly, loyalty to traditional customs."

"For this reason, they are regarded as the true protectors and

intermediaries between God and the living, between the earthly world and the hereafter," argued Pasinya, insisting that "the saints are not only the canonized, they are all our dead. And so, in the Body of Christ is accomplished what the cult of the ancestors implied." ChurchMilitant