Pope Francis Friday re-imposed strong restrictions on the old Latin Mass that were relaxed by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Prior to the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, vernacular languages were not technically allowed for use during Roman Catholic masses, which were delivered in Latin. The council aimed to modernize the religion and make it accessible.
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Another change to the old mass rituals included having priests face towards congregants rather than away from them. Old-style masses also called for the use of often elaborate vestments.
By the 2000s, there was a rule that required a local bishop’s permission to celebrate the old Latin Mass, according to the Washington Post. Pope Benedict relaxed this rule in 2007. A traditionalist Catholic, 94-year-old Pope Benedict was in 2013 the first pope to resign from the position since the 1400s after serving just eight years. He still lives at the Vatican.
Fox News said Benedict relaxed the rule to reach out to a schismatic group that celebrates called the Society of St. Pius X, that split from Rome over the modernizing reforms of Vatican II.
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In addition to reinstating the bishop permission rule, Pope Francis added other restrictions to the use of old Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass. Dioceses where groups celebrate the Latin mass should make sure that worshippers “do not deny the legitimacy,” of the Second Vatican Council, said the Washington Post.
According to Fox News, Francis’ new laws prohibit bishops from authorizing new pro-Latin Mass groups to organize at Catholic parishes.
Francis said he was “saddened” that the use of the old Latin Mass often doubles as a rejection of the Second Vatican Council in a letter explaining his decision. He said that to doubt the council is to “doubt the Holy Spirit himself.”
The 84-year-old pope issued the new directives just two days after being discharged from the hospital, where he underwent colon surgery.
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The Washington Post said Francis’ decision – which went into effect immediately – was “remarkable,” as it was a major step into the “liturgical wars” of the church and directly opposes Benedict. Francis is known for being at odds with church conservatives, and many were angered by this move.
“They accuse him of watering down church traditions and paying more attention to cultural issues than church doctrine,” said Washington Post.
Bill Donahue, the conservative president of the New York-based Catholic League, said that Francis’s restrictions said that the old Latin Mass is popular with young Catholics and that the decision will lead to “Mass shopping.”
According to the National Catholic Reporter, a progressive news outlet, the Latin mass has recently become “an instrument of oppression and a gathering point for Catholic fundamentalists.”
The old Latin Mass had become “a wedge issue, to divide, to elevate one part of the church as superior to other parts of the church,” said David Gibson, director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture.
“And that is intolerable.”
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