Church unity or marginalised community – reactions differ to Latin Mass restrictions

The Pope’s letter restricting the ‘Extraordinary Form’ has caused emotive responses, Ruadhán Jones hears

Pope Francis’ decision to restrict celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or ‘Extraordinary Form’ caused a predictable stir when it was  released Friday, July 16. In it, he effectively rolled back the more permissive legislation introduced by Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum. Now, if a priest wishes to celebrate the Latin Mass according to the pre-Vatican II missal, he must get permission from his bishop, while the TLM cannot be celebrated in parishes.

In Ireland, some have called the Pope’s move a positive step toward Eucharistic renewal, while others suggest it will create a new ghetto and marginalise a community.

“The Pope has acted to defend the unity of the Body of Christ,” Fr Liam Tracey, professor of Liturgy at Maynooth University, told The Irish Catholic. “Not only is this intervention necessary, Pope Francis clearly feels that not acting will leave the Church exposed to the peril of division.”

Church law issued

He pointed out that Pope Francis acted having surveyed bishops regarding the implementation of Summorum Pontificum before releasing his own motu proprio, meaning an addition to Church law issued on the Pope’s own authority, titled Traditionis Custodes (‘Guardians of Tradition’).

Fr Tracey advised those who participate in celebrating the pre-Vatican II missal to read Pope Francis’ documents carefully, as “Liturgical celebrations are not private actions but are celebrations of the Church, the whole community of the baptised”.

“The letter of Pope Francis is clear that the ultimate goal of his action is that all return to the liturgy of Saints Paul VI and John Paul II, to the liturgical books promulgated after Vatican II,” Fr Tracey said. “This is a call to all those in the Church to heighten their efforts in celebrating the liturgy and to allow it to become truly the source and the summit of the life of the Church. It is a call to Eucharistic renewal for every community.”

When asked about concerns that traditional communities don’t respect Vatican II, Fr Burke said the ‘vast majority’ do”

Not everyone shares Fr Tracey’s view. Fr Gabriel Burke, a curate in Blarney Parish, Co. Cork, and a populariser of the TLM in Ireland believes the new instruction “has created a new ghetto”.

“It has put them [traditionalists] back on the margins instead of reaching out and welcoming them,” Fr Burke continued. “Traditionalists are fantastic people. They don’t just come to Mass, they live it throughout their whole life. And they’re very committed to the Church. And now you’re telling them, you’re not really that important… let’s see what happens over the next months and years, because I don’t think it was his [Pope Francis’] intention to do that. I think he’s been badly advised.”

When asked about concerns that traditional communities don’t respect Vatican II, Fr Burke said the “vast majority” do.

“You might have a small minority, but you could count them on one hand,” he added. “The vast majority of Irish people who are attached to the old rite are attached because it has improved their spiritual life and has brought them closer to the Church. It has made them more one with the Church, which is what unity is.”

Whether or not the restrictions will have much of an affect in Ireland is not clear. Fr Burke believes the Irish bishops will “leave traditionalists to themselves”, as the bishops have always “been open to allowing the Latin Mass”.

Former president of The Latin Mass Society of Ireland Peadar Laighléis told this paper that he doesn’t “think the change is as dramatic as it appears to be at face value”.

Realistic appreciation

“The regulations that are in place are not much different to what we had prior to Summorum Pontificum, which could be worked successfully,” Mr Laighléis said, adding that those attached to the extraordinary form must have a “realistic appreciation of where we’re at”.

“As a group, we can come together and say, well, we mightn’t be able to get ‘abc’, but we can probably work on ‘efg’. That’s what I mean by realism… That’s what I think the traditional world needs to do. I would have said this before the document too.”

In a statement to The Irish Catholic, the Irish Bishops Conference said the “bishops will be considering its implications and will have an opportunity to discuss the matter at their autumn plenary meeting”.