Pope's initiative
I wish to commend Pope Benedict XVI for his most recent liturgical initiatives. Some may recall that a few months ago the Pope celebrated Mass in the Sistine Chapel facing the East rather than the people. More recently, on the feast of Corpus Christi (May 22, 2008), Pope Benedict XVI, for his papal Mass outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran, had a kneeler placed at the foot of the altar and distributed Holy Communion to four dozen communicants - all of whom knelt and received the Eucharist on the tongue. This latest initiative is in keeping with those orthodox practices which the Church strongly recommends. Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, commented on the significance of the pope's gesture saying: "I hope this practice spreads."
Pope Benedict XVI had previously pointed out that "the man who learns to believe learns also to kneel, and a faith or a liturgy no longer familiar with kneeling would be sick at the core."
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