The Catholic Church is currently embroiled in a heated debate concerning the celebration of the old Latin Mass.
This controversy has been reignited with the commencement of Pope Leo XIV's pontificate, following the alleged leak of Vatican documents that challenge the rationale of his predecessor, Pope Francis, for limiting access to the ancient liturgy.
These documents suggest that the majority of Catholic bishops who participated in a 2020 Vatican survey on the Latin Mass expressed overall satisfaction with it, cautioning that any restrictions would "do more harm than good."
According to the Associated Press, these texts were made public on Tuesday by Diane Montagna, a Vatican reporter who has been closely following the Latin Mass dispute. The Vatican spokesperson and the prefect of the doctrine office have yet to confirm the authenticity of these documents or provide any comments.
If these documents are verified, they could intensify the pressure on Pope Leo XIV to address the liturgical divisions that have proliferated, particularly in the United States, during Pope Francis' 12-year papacy. Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Leo has expressed his intention to foster unity and reconciliation within the Church. Many conservatives and traditionalists have highlighted the Latin Mass dispute as a pressing issue that requires immediate resolution.
In a controversial move in 2021, Pope Francis overturned Pope Benedict XVI's signature liturgical legacy, restricting ordinary Catholics' access to the old Latin Mass. This ancient liturgy was celebrated globally before the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council, which permitted Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular, with the priest facing the congregation. Pope Francis justified his decision to curtail the spread of the old liturgy by citing the division within the Church that resulted from Pope Benedict's 2007 decision to ease restrictions. Pope Francis claimed he was acting in response to "the wishes expressed" by bishops worldwide who participated in the Vatican survey, as well as the opinion of the Vatican doctrine office.
"The responses reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me, and persuades me of the need to intervene," Pope Francis wrote at the time. He further stated that the relaxation of restrictions by Pope Benedict had been "exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division."
However, the documents recently posted online paint a different picture. They suggest that the majority of bishops who responded to the Vatican survey held a generally favorable view of Pope Benedict's reform. They warned that suppressing or weakening it could lead traditionalist Catholics to leave the Church and join schismatic groups. They cautioned that any changes "would seriously damage the life of the church, as it would recreate the tensions that the document had helped to resolve."
The documents include an "overall assessment" of the survey findings by the Vatican's doctrine office and a compilation of quotes from individual bishops or bishops' conferences. While some negative and neutral opinions were expressed, with some bishops deeming Pope Benedict's reform "inappropriate, disturbing," dangerous, and worthy of suppression, the Vatican's own assessment indicated that the majority of responding bishops expressed satisfaction. The assessment noted the increase in religious vocations in traditionalist communities and the attraction of young Catholics to the "sacredness, seriousness, and solemnity of the liturgy."
It remains unclear what other evidence, anecdotes, or documentation informed Pope Francis' decision to reverse Pope Benedict's reform. However, from the outset, Pope Francis was often critical of traditionalist Catholics, accusing them of being self-absorbed retrogrades disconnected from the evangelizing mission of the Church in the 21st century.
The newly leaked documents have provided some comfort to traditionalists who felt targeted and abandoned by Pope Francis. Joseph Shaw, of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, stated, "The new revelations confirm that Pope Francis restricted the Traditional Mass at the request of only a minority of bishops, and against the advice of the dicastery in charge of the subject."
He added, "The majority view of the bishops, that restricting the TLM would cause more harm than good, has sadly been proved correct." In an email, Shaw urged Pope Leo to address this issue "urgently."
This ongoing debate within the Catholic Church over the celebration of the old Latin Mass, and the recent revelations from the leaked Vatican documents, underscore the challenges facing Pope Leo XIV as he navigates the liturgical divisions within the Church.
It remains to be seen how he will respond to these revelations and the calls for resolution from traditionalists and conservatives within the Church.
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