Recently Pope Francis issued the  Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes (“Guardians of the Tradition”) separating celebrations of the older Latin liturgy from ordinary parish life.  Not surprisingly, the issue raised controversy in some parts of the American Church. Curiously, the issues involved were not about the Latin language at all, but the far more basic issues of ecclesial worship.

Liturgical controversy is as old as the Church itself. Until the Council of Trent 1545-1562, the liturgies celebrated in Latin rite churches were relatively diverse. Religious orders often had their own liturgical customs and calendars, as did various countries and dioceses. In responding to the inroads of Protestant reformers, the Council of Trent opted for standard-ization.  “The state of insecurity [during this period], Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro explains, “is reflected in…the clinging to Latin (which fewer and fewer people understood), the stress on centralizing (the priest and the altar boy made the Mass; the people came in almost as an afterthought to ‘hear’ the Mass), the vast difference and separation between aisle and sanctuary; the worship of a church in tension.”

 For the next four centuries the form of the Eucharistic Liturgy was virtually unchanged and this came at a cost.  The Mass became seen as the act of the priest, a ritual celebrated by the priest in a language that only he understood.   The link between the people and the liturgy became distant, and devotional practices became the normal form of lay spirituality. 

In the first half of the twentieth century several Popes expressed the need to reform the liturgy and created study commissions, but progress was limited. Vatican Council II , convened by Pope St. John XXIII in late 1962, began, the reform of the liturgy was therefore among its first items of business. The resulting “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” was approved by a vote of 2147 to 4 and approved by Pope Paul VI. 

The document, hailed by some as the most outstanding achievement of Vatican Council II,  set out the principles for reforming the Mass in considerable detail. “The liturgy,” it explained.” is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it.”

The intent of this reform was very explicit: “In this restoration, both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community.” 

In keeping with these principles, a new Roman Missal was developed during the next several years  and published in 1969. At that time, the use of the older Tridentine Mass was suspended.  The revised liturgy, Paul VI explained, was to be regarded as the Church’s official  “rule of prayer” for Roman rite Catholics to celebrate the Mass. 

Not everyone, however, was pleased.   In 1970, A group of French seminarians induced French Archbishop Marcel LeFebvre to create a theological school in Switzerland dedicated to preserving the old ways of worship. Various efforts were then made by Rome to reconcile with this movement, now organized as the “Society of Pius X,” and an effort at accommodation, the limited use of the Tridentine Mass was authorized. Allowance for priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass was  further expanded by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Pope Benedict’s hope that the use of the older Latin liturgy would address the spiritual needs of the faithful, and bridge differences within the Church. 

In most parts of the world, the option of returning to the Tridentine Mass aroused little interest.  As a priest friend from Asia explained: “There are no Latin Masses or old rite that I know of in the Philippines or in Korea. …In the Orient we are more community minded.” Another priest friend writes, “The Traditional Latin Mass is not a problem for us here in India.” The devotional spirituality of the Tridentine Mass, however, had particular appeal to some Catholics in North America and Great Britain, and since that time most dioceses host one or more such Masses weekly. 

The re-introduction of the old Latin liturgy had unanticipated consequences. Jesuit commentator, Fr. Thomas J. Reese, describe how the Tridentine Mass has become “a focal point for a minority of Catholics who reject out of hand the reforms of Vatican II, have made the celebrations of the Tridentine Mass as “rallying centers for those fomenting opposition not only to the council reforms.”  In their eyes, because the church had sought to change a permanent and immutable liturgy, not only the Mass of Vatican II, but much of the council itself was illegitimate. It was these underlying currents of thought, rather than the form of the Mass that Rome found most disturbing.

All of this provides context to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Custodes Traditionis in which the use of Tridentine Mass is allowed but not favored. In the document, Bishops are once again given authority to supervise these masses and asked are to designate when and where such Masses can be celebrated. A key element is doctrinal: before authorizing a celebration of the Tridentine Mass the bishop is “to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and legitimacy of liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Supreme Pontiffs.”

There are also other restrictions: No new parishes exclusively for the use of the Tridentine Mass may be established, and priests ordained after July 2021 are required to submit a written request to the bishop “who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.” It is interesting to note, that the use of the Latin language, an important element in the mystique of the Tridentine Mass, is not mentioned. Latin remains the official language of the Church, and freely be used for the celebration of the Tridentine or Vatican II Masses.  

The reception of the directive has been mixed.  A Catholic liturgist welcomed it as “prophetic.” Many of those who have become fond of the “Latin Mass” were confused. Some were outraged, and the blogosphere was rife with complaints. The dissident Society of Pius X affirmed that it would never accept either the new liturgy or the teachings of Vatican II. For the vast majority of Catholics who have never experienced a Latin Mass, the action of Pope Francis was almost unnoticed: a momentary media flurry about a surprisingly firm step by pope known for his gentleness. 

Missing in much of the commentary was a sense of the ecclesial vision animating these decisions  — a topic that Pope Francis has frequently addressed: “The liturgy is life and not an idea to be understood.” he explains “is not primarily a doctrine to be understood, or a rite to be performed… it is life for the entire people of the Church, popular not clerical, being an action for the people, but also of the people….  It is not a sacrament ‘for me’; it is the sacrament of the many, who form one body, the holy, faithful people of God.  God’s holy and faithful people”.[14] … the small and the great, the rich and the poor, children and elderly, healthy and sick, the just and the sinful. it is inclusive and not exclusive.” 

Pope Francis also acknowledges that more work is required to realize this vision “by rediscovering the reasons for the decisions taken with regard to the liturgical reform, by overcoming unfounded and superficial readings, a partial reception, and practices that disfigure it.”  

In the end, the instruction on the use of the Tridentine Liturgy is not the “liberal bullying” of a Pope, as one critic suggests, but rather a call to a deeper, broader vision of the nature of worship in the life of the Christ’s body, the Church.

July 30, 2021