Tridentine

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Challenge for Leo XIV: Battles over Latin and worship traditions are not going away

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Challenge for Leo XIV: Battles over Latin and worship traditions are not going away

On the first Sunday of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV stood on the central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and did something that shocked some Catholics -- he chanted the Marian prayer Regina Caeli in Latin.

"Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia," he sang, leading to the crowd's response, "Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia." In English, that would be: "Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia."

While many consider Latin chant controversial, the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music immediately launched a project called "Let's Sing with the Pope." It offers "video tutorials on social media to help the People of God sing along with the Holy Father during the upcoming major liturgical celebrations," said Father Robert Mehlhart, on the institute's Instagram account.

The goal, he added, is to "make the rich heritage of Gregorian chant accessible to all."

So far, Pope Leo XIV has not addressed ongoing debates about restrictions on use of the Tridentine Mass, often called the "traditional Latin Mass." Bishops around the world have been pulled into these battles after the 2021 release of the Pope Francis apostolic letter "Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition)."

In 2023 remarks to Jesuits in Hungary, Pope Francis said stronger restrictions on use of the pre-Vatican II rite were necessary because of a state of "indietrismo" -- or "backwardness" -- caused by a "nostalgic disease" among many Catholics.

"After all the necessary consultations, I decided this because I saw that the good pastoral measures put in place by John Paul II and Benedict XVI were being used in an ideological way, to go backward," he added, in a transcript released by a Jesuit journal.

While use of the Latin Mass remains a flashpoint, a controversy in the rapidly growing Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, has raised questions about the status of other liturgical traditions and symbols.

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Farewell to the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel: Yes, the Latin Mass wars are escalating

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Farewell to the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel: Yes, the Latin Mass wars are escalating

Since the late 19th Century, Catholics have recited the Prayer to St. Michael when facing disease, disaster and despair.

It proclaims, in part: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. … O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls."

Before Vatican II, this prayer was often recited after Mass, although it wasn't in the rubrics. In 1994, St. Pope John Paul II urged Catholics to embrace it -- while preaching on threats to the unborn.

The faithful at St. Joseph's Parish in Libertyville, Ill., stopped reciting the Prayer to St. Michael aloud after Masses this past summer. While debate continues about what the Archdiocese of Chicago instructed, livestreamed remarks by the associate pastor went viral, during a worship wars surge in modern Catholicism.

"What I'm going to say, I'm going to say this with a lot of respect. Following the directive of Cardinal Cupich, we want to remind everyone that the Prayer of St. Michael is not to be said publicly following Mass," said Father Emanuel Torres-Fuentes. "As a priest, I have to obey, and I obey this at peace."

While Cardinal Blase Cupich's actions have made news, this drama opened in July with a Pope Francis apostolic letter entitled "Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of the tradition)." It restricted use of the old Latin Mass, thus undercutting "Summorum Pontificum (Of the Supreme Pontiffs)" by the retired Pope Benedict XVI. That document said the post-Vatican II Novus Ordo was the "ordinary form" for the Mass, but the Tridentine rite was an "extraordinary form" that could be encouraged.

The Pope Francis letter appeared to give local bishops some freedom to control use of the old Latin Mass. Then the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship released guidelines on Dec. 18, explaining the pope's edict.

Many bishops, for example, had granted dispensations allowing some diocesan parishes to use the Latin Mass. But Rome's new guidelines said this was not permitted -- only the Vatican could grant exceptions. Also, any parish allowed to celebrate the Tridentine Mass could not list this service in printed or online Mass schedules.

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Flashback to 'catacomb' Masses after Pope Francis crackdown on the Latin Mass?

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Flashback to 'catacomb' Masses after Pope Francis crackdown on the Latin Mass?

It's easy for religious leaders to create new laws, but it's harder to convince believers to follow them.

At least, that's what the Benediction monk Gratian -- a canon law pioneer -- argued in the 12th century: "Laws are established when they are promulgated. … They are confirmed when they have been approved by the long term and reasoned acceptance of those who observe them."

Anyone doubting this wisdom should study Catholic social media, noted Cardinal Walter Brandmuller, the 92-year-old former leader of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. There has been a "hurricane" in the "blogger scene and other media" in response to Traditionis Custodes ("Guardians of the tradition"), the effort by Pope Francis to bind those who celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.

When confusion surrounds a new "ecclesiastical law" -- as opposed to scripture and "natural law" doctrines -- it's important to remember that its "validity … ultimately depends on the consent of those affected by it," wrote Brandmuller, at Kath.net in Germany.

"The law must serve the good of the community, and not vice versa. … If a law is not observed, or is no longer observed, whether from the beginning or after a time, it loses its binding force and becomes obsolete."

The pope's declaration has unleased waves of grief among supporters of the now retired Pope Benedict XVI and his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum ("Of the Supreme Pontiffs"), which claimed the post-Vatican II Novus Ordo was the "ordinary form" for the modern Mass, but that the older Tridentine rite was an "extraordinary form" that could be encouraged.

This fight is "not really about rites at all, wrote Father Raymond J. de Souza, at First Things. It's about Catholic life in the age of the Internet. The Mass is the message."

The question is how Pope Francis will apply his ruling that the modern Mass is now the "unique expression" of the Catholic "lex orandi" (the law of what is prayed). Will this affect Byzantine liturgies used by Eastern Rite Catholics or rites approved for former Anglicans?