Canonical Reflections on Universae Ecclesiae, the Instruction on the Application of Summorum Pontificum

In 2011, the Pontifical commission ecclesia dei issued the instruction universae ecclesiae on the application of Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio summorum pontificum. This article briefly examines the organization of the instruction and its juridic weight before studying the document in more detail. Following the arrangement of the instruction, analysis of the text itself begins by looking at the introduction—which is rooted in the pope's motu proprio and accompanying letter to bishops—and the competence of the Pontifical commission ecclesia dei. commentary is provided on the specific norms of the instruction according to the following areas: the competence of diocesan bishops, the notion of the coetus fidelium, the sacerdos idoneus, liturgical and ecclesiastical discipline, confirmation and holy orders, the breviarium romanum, the Sacred Triduum, rites of religious orders, and the use of the pontificale romanum and rituale romanum.