Pope Francis’ Traditionis Custodes: Five Consequences of the New Motu Proprio Curtailing the Latin Mass

National Catholic Register, 16 July 2021

The Pope hopes to foster the unity of the Church by his decision, but it’s unlikely to happen immediately in the wake of the Holy Father’s clampdown on celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Where there is incense there is fire, at least when it comes to Catholics clashing over the liturgy. There was clashing aplenty today, with Pope Francis abolishing the chief liturgical initiative of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Pope Francis intends that there will be rather less incense, at least of the extraordinary type.

Pope Francis took “the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions and customs” issued by St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI regarding the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,” often called the “Traditional Latin Mass” using the Roman Missal of 1962 promulgated by St. John XXIII.

Pope Francis hopes to foster the unity of the Church by this decision. That is unlikely to happen immediately, as those who were grateful to Benedict XVI for allowing any priest to celebrate the Extraordinary Form in his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in 2007, will be disappointed, likely gravely so, that Pope Francis has completely reversed Benedict’s liturgical legislation. 

The earthquake of the motu proprio today may explain, in retrospect, why the Vatican observations of the recent 70th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI were so muted, despite such an anniversary never having occurred before in the entire history of the Church. It cannot be that this decision is anything other than a bitter pill for Benedict to swallow.

There is no gainsaying the importance of the Holy Father’s decision, expressed in the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes (Custodians of Tradition), dated July 16, 2021. 

Pope Francis judges that many of those who are attached to the Extraordinary Form express in “words and attitudes … [a] rejection of the Church and her institutions in the name of what is called the ‘true Church.’ One is dealing here with comportment that contradicts communion and nurtures the divisive tendency.”

It is possible that those who are given to such tendencies may intensify their “rejection of the Church” now that their preferred liturgical expression has been curtailed. While Pope Francis is certainly aware of this, it is his view that such Catholics “need to return in due time to the Roman Rite promulgated by Saints Paul VI and John Paul II.” 

Beginning immediately, all celebrations of the Extraordinary Form require explicit permission of the diocesan bishop, who is instructed to “designate one or more locations” where it can be celebrated, but these are not to be “parochial churches” nor is the “the erection of new personal parishes” permitted.

There will be plenty of reaction to to examine in the days ahead but five initial issues emerge.

Benedict v. Francis?

Pope Francis has explicitly, deliberately and dramatically revoked the permissions and legislation given by his predecessors. He has unambiguously rejected Benedict’s argument that the two forms of the Roman Rite — extraordinary and ordinary — will not foster division. It is precisely because of the divisions he has identified — after a survey of the world’s bishops — that he judges that the Extraordinary Form needs to be curtailed.

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