If you look at his face, these features are those of a man who means business. As bishop in Medellin, Colombia, he was known to walk the streets giving whatever charity he could to his impoverished flock. At times, when called upon, he would trudge the mountain forests to intermediate between the government forces and leftist guerillas. One time, he showed up at the estate of the notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar, to plead with him to cease his nefarious cocaine trade. He gained entry to the compound by disguising himself as a milk man. Imagine the fortitude! Escobar was a huge king pin, his poisonous enterprise, was ranked by Forbes as the seventh wealthiest business in the world. Hoyos said his peace, then requested that the criminal go to confession. And he did. Time magazine Rome correspondent, Jeff Israely, refers to the Escobar encounter here. The fact that his contrition was only temporary was not the fault of this valiant shepherd. Escobar was gunned down in a battle with the police in 1993.
This is the man has been doing everything conceivably possible, from his position as head of the Pontifical Ecclesia Dei Commission, to facilitate the availability of the traditional Latin Mass.
On 13 September 2007 Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, in an interview with Vatican Radio about the implementation of Pope Benedict’s motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which was due to be promulgated the next day, the Cardinal responded to the following questions:
- Q: What has changed, really, with this motu proprio?
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- Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: With this “motu proprio,” in reality, there has not been a big change. The important thing is that in this moment, priests can decide, without permission from the Holy See or the bishop, to celebrate the Mass in the ancient rite. And this holds true for all priests. It is the parish priests who must open the doors to those priests that, having the faculty, go to celebrate. It is not therefore necessary to ask any other permission.
- Q: Your Eminence, this document was accompanied by fear and polemics. What is not true about what has been said or read?
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- Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: It is not true, for example, that power was taken away from bishops over the liturgy, because the Code of Canon Law says who must give permission to say Mass and it is not the bishop: The bishop gives the “celebret,” the power to be able to celebrate, but when a priest has this power, it is the parish priest and the chaplain who must grant the altar to celebrate.
If anyone impedes him, it is up to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, in the name of the Holy Father, to take measures until this right — which is a right that is clear to the faithful by now — is respected.
- Q: On the vigil of the “motu proprio” taking effect, what are your hopes?
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- Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos: My hopes are these: The Eucharist is the greatest thing we have, it is the greatest manifestation of love, of God’s redemptive love who wants to stay with us with this Eucharistic presence. This must never be a motive for discord but only love.
I hope that this can be a reason for joy for all those who love tradition, a reason for joy for all those parishes that will no longer be divided, but will have — on the contrary — a multiplicity of holiness with a rite that was certainly a factor and instrument of sanctification for more than a thousand years.
We thank, therefore, the Holy Father who recovered this treasure for the Church. Nothing is imposed on anyone, the Pope does not impose the obligation; the Pope does impose offering this possibility where the faithful request it.
If there is a conflict, because humanly speaking two groups can enter into conflict, the authority of the bishop — as written in the “motu proprio” — must intervene to avoid it, but without canceling the right that the Pope gave to the entire Church.
