The International Una Voce Federation
A Brief History.
Formation: In 1964, Dr. Borghild Krane, an eminent psychologist in Norway, sent out an appeal to concerned Catholics to group together in defence of the Church's liturgical heritage. As a result of that appeal a number of national associations came into being in 1964/65. Delegates from six European associations met in Rome early in 1965 and the International Federation was formally erected in Zurich on January 8th, 1967 when delegates from 20 associations approved the draft statutes and elected the first Council.
A Lay Movement: The International Una Voce Federation is a lay movement, and its principal aims are to ensure that the Missale Romanum of Pope John XXIII (1962 edition) is maintained in the Church as one of the forms of liturgical celebration, and to safeguard and promote the use of Latin, Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony. A General Assembly is convened every two years in Rome and elections are held for the Council and Presidency. The current President is Mr Jack Oostveen from Una Voce Delft, The Netherlands. The Federation is recognized by the Holy See, its views are received with courtesy and respect by the relevant Roman Congregations, and its representatives are received by them in the same manner. Over the years it has made successful interventions with Rome on numerous occasions to safeguard the traditional Mass and ancient liturgical practice. Its first President, Dr. Eric de Saventhem was instrumental in convincing Pope John Paul II in 1986 to convoke a special Commission of Cardinals to investigate to situation concerning the celebration of the traditional Mass.
The Federation is not an organization run from above by a central committee. Each national association is an autonomous body that is encouraged to do all that it can to achieve the objectives of the Federation at the local level but the International Federation is better placed to represent the common concerns of traditional Catholics world-wide at the highest level of Church government. Negotiations with Rome tend to be carried out behind the scenes and are not normally made public.
Membership: The International Federation represents 30 member associations in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, England and Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA. In 2004 the International Federation made remarkable progress. Applications for information and assistance came from Bogota in Columbia, from Katmandu in Nepal, from Madras in southern India, from Belarus, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Mexico, and Hungary.
Comments from Cardinals:
- On 25 July 1996 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith commended the International Una Voce Federation for playing an important role in supporting the use of the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal in obedience to the directives of the Holy See.
- Cardinal Medina Estévez, until recently the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, feels that use of the 1962 Missal should be granted to all who request it and has stated that on the basis of his personal research the rite of St. Pius V has never been abrogated.
- On 4 September 2000, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos told Una Voce representatives that he considered the Missal of St Pius V to be a great treasure of the Church, and that he could see no reason why we should not be granted the use of all the liturgical books in use in 1962. It was his opinion that the motu proprio "Ecclesia Dei" puts a serious responsibility upon bishops to implement it, and that only when there are serious reasons to the contrary should requests be denied.
Contact (by E-mail)
President: Mr. Leo Darroch,
Vice-President: Mr. Jack P. Oostveen,
Vice-President: Mr. Bill Basile,
Secretary: Mr. Rodolfo Vargas Rubio,
Treasurer: Frau Monika Rheinschmitt.