Pope Francis has reiterated that Masses in Latin can only be celebrated in the Catholic Church with the express permission of the Vatican.
Pope Francis during an audience at the Vatican
Photo: ANSA / Ansa Brazil
In a “Rescriptum ex audientia” a decision orally communicated by the Pope to a member of the Roman Curia in audience Jorge Bergoglio clarifies the principles of the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes” (“Guardians of Tradition”), published in 2021 and those of the more traditional Fringes of the clergy, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, anger for restricting crowds in Latin.
In practice, Francis has clarified that the use of parish churches by groups celebrating Mass in Latin and the use of the ancient Missal by priests ordained according to the “Traditionis custodes” must be authorized directly by the Holy See.
It is therefore the sole responsibility of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on a casebycase basis, to deal with all requests addressed to the bishops for the use of John XXIII’s Approved Missal so dear to traditionalists in 1962 before Vatican II approved Masses in all languages.
The issue of the Latin sermon came to the fore again earlier this year when Georg Ganswein, Benedict XVI’s private secretary, announced that the pope emeritus had been saddened by the restrictions imposed by Bergoglio in 2021.
Traditionalist groups accuse Francis of waging an “unfair” fight against the ancient liturgy, while specialized blogs linked to conservative clergy denounce a “despotic” use of papal authority.