Leak: Did Francis restrict Traditional Latin Mass against the advice of the bishops?

Pope Francis appears to have ignored the advice of the bishops previously consulted worldwide when he restricted the Traditional Latin Mass. According to documents that have now become public, the responses to a survey conducted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the implementation of the rules for the pre-conciliar liturgy put in place by Pope Benedict XVI were significantly more positive than the Pope himself presented. This emerges from a summary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a collection of quotes from the bishops' feedback, which the Vatican journalist Diane Montagna published on Tuesday published on Tuesday. The authenticity of the documents has not yet been confirmed.

With his 2021 motu proprio Traditionis custodes, Pope Francis (2013-2025) significantly restricted the celebration of the liturgy according to the books in force in 1962. significantly restricted and thus followed the liberalisation by Benedict XVI (2005-2013) with his Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (2007), thus largely reversing the liberalisation. In a letter accompanying his motu proprio, he referred to the results of the survey commissioned by him survey he had commissioned the previous year"The responses received have revealed a situation that saddens and worries me and confirms the need to intervene." The possibility of being able to celebrate the pre-conciliar liturgy more easily "has been used to widen the gaps, to harden the differences, to create antagonisms that hurt the Church and hinder her in her journey, exposing her to the risk of division".

German Bishops' Conference apparently satisfied with "Summorum Pontificum"

In contrast, the general assessment now published, which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is said to have drawn up on the basis of the feedback received, paints a less negative picture. The feedback shows that the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum plays a clear, albeit modest, role in the Church. The simplification of the celebration of the pre-conciliar liturgy introduced by Benedict XVI had "affirmed the equal dignity of the two forms of the same Roman rite and thus created the conditions for genuine liturgical peace, also with regard to a possible future unity of the two forms". The majority of the feedback from bishops emphasised that the introduction of the then new regulations was evaluated positively, especially where personal parishes were established for the celebration of the then so-called "extraordinary form". As a result, peace had returned to the dioceses. The fact that supporters of the pre-conciliar Mass are generally opposed to the Second Vatican Council cannot be generalised.

It was also positively emphasised that some young people are attracted to the Traditional Latin Mass and its "sacredness, seriousness and solemnity": "What impresses them most, even in an excessively noisy and verbose society, is the rediscovery of silence in the sacred actions, the restrained and essential words, the preaching faithful to the Church's teaching, the beauty of liturgical singing and the dignity of the celebration: a seamless whole that is deeply attractive." The number of vocations in communities that celebrate the pre-conciliar liturgy was also emphasised.

In the exemplary feedback from the questionnaire, the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) is also quoted with two responses. They state that the current offer of Masses in the extraordinary form meets the pastoral needs of the faithful. The initial conflicts surrounding the organisation of Masses in the extraordinary form have been resolved peacefully in recent years. The DBK has therefore come to a positive assessment of the implementation of the motu proprio Summorum pontificum: "The current practice has proven itself and should not be changed for pastoral reasons."

Concerns about distortions due to changes to the status quo

According to the summary, there was feedback in favour of stricter regulation. However, the majority were against changes to the then existing legal situation: "Any change - whether by cancelling or weakening the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum - would seriously damage the life of the Church, as it would revive the tensions that the document helped to resolve." Hardly any feedback has been received so far. In 2021, the responses from the French Bishops' Conference which was critical of Summorum Pontificum became public.

In his accompanying letter to Traditionis custodes, Pope Francis, on the other hand, emphasised the alleged close relationship between the celebration according to the liturgical books valid before the Second Vatican Council and a "rejection of the Church and its institutions in the name of what they consider to be the 'true Church'". While Benedict XVI spoke of two forms, the ordinary and the extraordinary form of the Roman rite in force before the liturgical reform, Francis abolished this distinction and emphasised the unity of the Roman rite.

The restrictions decreed by Pope Francis stipulate, among other things, that newly ordained priests are no longer permitted to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, that it may no longer be celebrated in parish churches and that no new groups or personal parishes may be founded for the celebration according to the books of 1962. The regulations of the motu proprio were later amended by the Congregation for Divine Worship through implementing provisions tightened further by the Congregation for Divine Worship. (fxn)