Is Pope Francis Stepping Away from Summorum?

The Catholic web is buzzing about the column by Sandro Magister this morning. He reports of a July 11 decree from the Vatican congregation for religious life: "The decree bears the date of July 11, 2013, the protocol number 52741/2012, and the signatures of the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, a focolarino, and of the secretary of the same congregation, Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, a Franciscan."

The decree states that "every religious of the congregation of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is required to celebrate the liturgy according to the ordinary rite and that, if the occasion should arise, the use of the extraordinary form (Vetus Ordo) must be explicitly authorized by the competent authorities, for every religious and/or community that makes the request.”

This seems to be an important step away from one of the major achievements of Benedict XVI, the liberalization of the older form of the Roman Rite. I say that based on the information that is currently available. At the same time, more information might be forthcoming that would help clarify matters.