"Nostalgic" Proposals on Liturgy Not Helpful – Cardinal Spengler

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"Nostalgic" Proposals on Liturgy Not Helpful – Cardinal Spengler

gloria.tv | January 16, 2026

Asked about the Mass in the Roman rite, Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil, said that “the river doesn’t flow backwards.” He spoke with VidaNuevaDigital.com on January 16. The cardinal is president of the bishops’ conferences of Brazil and Latin America (CELAM).

His main statement echoes the historically weak ideas promoted by Cardinal Roche at the consistory on January 7-8.

Cardinal Spengler said, “Throughout history, the liturgy has undergone various reforms. The Second Vatican Council represents an enormous effort to recover fundamental elements of Catholic liturgical celebration. Nostalgic proposals do not help to promote what the Council identified as essential for the liturgy.”

Furthermore, Cardinal Spengler offered a pointless definition of the Eucharist: “Liturgy cannot be understood simply as an expression of religious practice; above all, it is a vigorous expression of a lived experience of faith, both personal and communal - an experience of encounter with the person of Jesus Christ.”