No liturgical changes in store? Hmmm...

From this article in Cathnews:

"At the moment, there are no institutional proposals for a modification of the liturgical books currently in use," said the Assistant Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Ciro Benedettini, according to Catholic News Service.

It is read, by Cathnews, as a denial that there is any "Reform of the Reform" in mind in the Vatican.

Ah, but!

There really doesn't have to be any "modification of the liturgical books currently in use" for a whole raft of changes to be made to the way in which we are currently celebrating the liturgy. There is nothing, for eg., in the rubrics or canos saying that "ad orientem" celebrations of the liturgy should not be the norm. There is nothing forbidding the use of an altar rail and kneeling at communion and reception of the host on the tongue. There is nothing saying that the entire liturgy (or a good deal of it) could not be said in Latin, or sung with accompanying Gregorian chants.

None of this would require any "modification of the liturgical books currently in use" (note, that this means, as far as the Vatican is concerned, the official Roman books - not the local adaptions and modifications currently in use throughout the world). And yet all of this would be interpeted by some people as a "return to Pre-Vatican II", as a "roll back" of the Reform.

And example, after all, is everything. Just note the way that the altar crosses are making their way back onto our altars - even on "versus populum" altars. All he did was set an example.