Altar ad orientem at Oristano

Fr Jim Tucker reports that Cardinal Ruini and Bishop Fisichella recently came from Rome to consecrate the new bishop of Oristano. There is an interesting comment on the Cattolici Romani Forum which is a text from Professore Fr Gianluca Arca explaining the changes in the Cathedral in relation to the post-Conciliar reforms, very much along the lines of Cardinal Ratzinger's writing and the recent speeches of Archbishop Ranjith, secretary of the CDW.
L’arcivescovo di Oristano, coadiuvato, si immagina, dal Capitolo metropolitano, si è reso promotore di una decisione importante, interprete acuta della ricerca di spiritualità e frutto di una riflessione profonda: ha voluto levato dal presbiterio della Cattedrale l’altare provvisorio coram populo, frutto di una tendenza successiva al Concilio Vaticano II e non legata alle maturazioni di esso. La scelta di un altare aggiunto volto al popolo, che si è imposta per anni, dopo la riforma liturgica, la quale pure non la rende un obbligo, è da sempre poco espressiva del senso più pieno della celebrazione eucaristica, perchè impedisce la percezione della grande forza dinamica della liturgia, rinserrando in un circolo che si autocelebra le tensioni ascendenti significate dal volgersi ad Oriente, simbolicamente il Cielo ed evangelicamente la direzione da cui il Figlio dell’uomo tornerà a manifestarsi a quanti lo attendono.
See the full text here

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