Archd. of Washington, DC: over complicating Summorum Pontificum?

Fr. Zuhlsdorf received a copy of a letter sent to priests in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. The letter was sent in PDF format but he reproduces one segment on his blog:

In the near future, Archbishop Wuerl will appoint a Coordinator of the Extraordinary Form to serve as chaiman of the special committee. Because the archbishop has the responsibility to foster a common discipline in the celebration of the sacrament within the archdiocese (C. 392),
his permission must be received prior to making any permanent commitments by a parish for the public celebration of the Extraordinary Form on a regular basis. This also is in accord with Article 5 of Summorum Pontificum which state that public or regularly scheduled Masses be offered under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church. To request this permission pastors first must seek the review and counsel of the Coordinator of the Extraordinary Form, who will then present a recommendation to the archbishop.
Fr. Z's response is what one would expect. I'll let him take it from here on. Please check out his comments on the WDTPRS blog!

NB: Lest I be remiss, I should call your attention to another thread on the situation in Philadelphia as well. And there are a great many comments.


Comments