Why The Vatican is Banning the Latin Mass: An Explainer

What's Going On?

It appears that the secular world has caught wind of the Vatican’s ongoing efforts to prohibit the celebration of the “Traditional Latin Mass” or TLM as it is known by most. This Substack is mostly dedicated to things outside the Catholic world, but since I currently attend a Latin Mass community and have followed this story closely, I thought I would provide a brief explainer on the whole affair. I try to provide concise answers in what follows but some are a bit longer than others. Enjoy—Darrick

What is the “Traditional Latin Mass?”

The term refers to the older form of the Roman Rite, the primary form of the Roman Church’s worship. The Catholic Church uses a liturgical book called a missal, which contains all the prayers used in the “mass,” what Catholics call the rite at which they administer the eucharist. Up until the 1960s, this rite was always celebrated in a Latin unique to the Church, since the late 4th c. A.D. But in the 1960s, after the Second Vatican Council, a meeting of all the Catholic bishops, the Church substantially re-wrote the prayers of the liturgy and gave local churches permission to translate the texts of the mass into vernacular. Since 1970, most Catholics have worshipped according to this new missal. But small number of Catholics have continued to use the older missal and worship according to this older form of the mass.

Why did the Catholic Church Change How it Worships?

The Second Vatican Council wanted to “update” the Church’s presentation of its beliefs to better appeal to modern society. It was thought that translating the Roman liturgy into vernacular would make it easier to understand, and therefore make the Church’s worship more accessible to non-Catholics.

Didn’t the Church Get Rid of the TLM in the 60s?

Pope Paul VI, who oversaw the reforms in the 1960s, expected Catholics would worship according to the new missal, and ordered the older one to be phased out. However, small groups of people petitioned the pope to allow them to continue worshiping according to the older rite. Paul VI expected only an older generation of Catholics would be interested in doing so and did not envision this as a permanent state of things. However, his successor Pope Benedict XVI stated that the older rite had never been legally “abrogated” according to canon law. Moreover, interest in the old mass has grown in the decades since and though they make up a tiny percentage of Catholics worldwide, Latin Mass communities have been growing since 2007 (when Benedict XVI lifted restrictions on its celebration). Latin Mass communities tend to attract fully committed Catholics who have large families, and hence their demographics are small but far younger than the Church as a whole. They are also quite vocal on social media, sometimes attracting negative attention for criticizing the hierarchy.

Why Does the Rite Make a Difference? Aren’t They Both the Same?

This is part of the dispute about the old liturgy. The Catholic Church has a saying, “lex orandi, lex credendi,” meaning “the law of prayer is the law of belief.” The public worship of the Church embodies and expresses the dogmas of the Church. The way it does so is therefore very important. The changes the Church made to the way it worships were so dramatic and visible that it caused some to question whether the Church was altering its beliefs as well.

Is That Why “Traditionalists” Don’t Like the New Mass?

Partly, yes. Critics of the newer missal when it was introduced thought that its prayers could be interpreted in ways that were not compatible with Catholic dogmas, especially about the Eucharist. Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ during the liturgy and felt the new missal did not express this and other dogmas sufficiently.

Do Traditionalists Reject the New Mass?

Most accept the validity of the new mass but think it is problematic. Many will attend the newer mass if they have to but prefer the TLM. A minority do refuse the new mass altogether.

Is That Why the Vatican Wants to Suppress the TLM?

Partly, yes. Pope Francis has made clear his intention that all Catholics should worship in the new rite, and cited as one of his reasons that he sees the old mass as a cause of division in the Church.

How Have They Divided the Church? Aren’t Traditionalists a Small Minority?

In the 1970s, a bishop named Marcel Lefebvre, disturbed by many of the changes taking place in the Church, founded a priestly society (a canonical organization of priests in community) called the Society of St. Pius X. Lefebvre celebrated the old mass but had other concerns about the changes that followed Vatican II and worried that Catholicism as he understood would disappear. When the Vatican ordered him to close down his society, he refused. When he ordained bishops without the Vatican’s permission a little more than a decade later, he and the bishops he ordained were excommunicated. In 2007, Benedict XVI lifted the sentence of excommunication from the bishops Lefebvre ordained, and since then the SSPX has existed in a sort of limbo between outright schism and communion with Rome. There are also other, tiny splinter groups who have become sedevacantists (those who think Rome has apostasized and that the occupants of the See of Rome since Vatican II have not been legitimate popes).

The SSPX is largest traditionalist body, but there are several other priestly societies that celebrate the TLM which are in communion with Rome as well. The celebration of the old mass has grown popular among diocesan priests since Pope Benedict XVI liberalized access to it (prior to this, priests needed permission to celebrate the old mass), and this is something pope Francis has cited as a concern.

That Sounds Like a Reasonable Concern. Why Would Catholics Object to This?

Because the issue goes beyond liturgy. The old mass has become a symbol of the theological divide which has grown up in the Church since Vatican II. That council only made changes to the Church’s pastoral practice and discipline, not its defined dogmas (which are irreformable). However, some of these changes appeared to traditionalist but also more conservative Catholics to conflict with the Church’s settled teachings. And many “progressive” Catholics have come to see the council and the liturgical reform as the launching point for further changes. These mostly have to do with the Church’s teachings on sexuality and its relationship with other religions. These teachings (on abortion, homosexuality, contraception, etc., as well as the Church’s claims to exclusivity, i.e., to be the true Church of Christ) are among the most contentious in the Church today. The old mass has become a symbol for the status of those controversial teachings: those who think they cannot be abandoned favor the old mass, while those who oppose it see it as impeding their attempts to alter the Church’s beliefs on these points.

So This is Really About Beliefs, Not Worship?

Remember: lex orandi, lex credendi. The two issues are linked. That is why those who want the Church to “evolve” on certain issues want the TLM banned. It would be a sign that those beliefs are no longer held by the Church, if they can somehow make it disappear.

So The Pope Wants to Ban it Because He is a “Progressive?”

Pope Francis’ most ardent supporters are progressives, and many of the most vocal proponents of prohibiting the TLM, such as Andrea Grillo, an Italian liturgist, have advocated for changing the Church’s teaching on contraception among other things. Pope Francis does not like the TLM but is not as fervent on this subject as his supporters, who have pushed him in this direction.

If He is the Pope, Why Doesn’t He Just Ban It?

The pope has supreme authority in the Church, but it is not unlimited. Popes have banned liturgies in the past but only when it was a question of the orthodoxy of those rites. This is why many object to the banning of the TLM, as it would seem to call into question the Church’s orthodoxy, as it is the oldest liturgy in the Roman Church; the oldest prayers in the TLM date from late antiquity, and many are loathe to jettison this part of the Church’s heritage. If the Church’s primary form of worship was suspect, theologically speaking, for so many centuries, that would cast doubt on the Church’s claims to authority. Also, there are practical limits. The policy of abolishing these masses is not popular with bishops, who have much on their plate to deal with. They have not enthusiastically carried out the restrictions the Vatican has imposed thus far.

So Will the Old Mass Be Banned?

The latest reports seem to indicate the Vatican is trying to herd TLM going lay people into the priestly societies that celebrate it, in order to cleanse ordinary parishes of their presence. In my opinion, this is not going to work in the long run for several reasons, the most obvious of which is that all of this depends on pope Francis, who is 87 and nearing the end of his life. There are cardinals who are possible candidates for the next conclave who would likely continue this push against the TLM, but even if one is elected, I doubt they can stop it completely. The bishops, aside some of the pope’s most fervent partisans, don’t really want to do this. Also, there is so much information about the old mass out there as opposed to fifty years ago, there is no way you can prevent seminarians or priests, much less laity, from learning about it. Finally, one can overstate it, but TLM parishes/communities are one of the few areas of the Catholic Church that is obviously growing at the moment. I have experienced first-hand the desire for it among younger Catholics, and it is quite real, if limited. Things can change, but in the medium term at the very least, the TLM will be a part of the Church’s future, despite the current move against it, in my opinion.