Pope Benedict XVI has released the long-awaited document granting permission for the older form of Mass, which was in general use in Catholic churches before the Second Vatican Council.
This move will prove controversial in some quarters, and the pope refers to the controvery that has already been generated in a letter he issued that accompanies the document.
The pope comments:
News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion. There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown.
Here are links to the document itself (the "motu proprio"–a document issued by the pope’s "own initiative"), the accompanying letter from the pope, and analysis by others.
TEXT OF THE MOTU PROPRIO. (AND IN LATIN.)
TEXT OF THE ACCOMPANYING LETTER.
UPDATE: AND STILL YET MORE ANALYSIS (THIS TIME FROM FR. Z–CHT TO THE READER WHO COMMENTED).

