Traditionis Custodes Archives

Traditionis Custodes

Letter from Rome: the Roche rescript comes with all the zeal of Saul the Pharisee

February 24, 2023

Still breathing threats against the Church’s ancient liturgy with a zeal reminiscent of Saul the Pharisee in Acts 9:1, Cardinal Arthur Roche has now begun strong-arming bishops to “ensure the correct application” of Pope Francis’s 2021 apostolic letter restricting the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), Traditionis Custodes.

Curbs on Traditional Latin Mass ‘broke Pope Benedict’s heart’

January 04, 2023

New curbs on the Traditional Latin Mass “broke Pope Benedict’s heart”, according to his private secretary. Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the closest confidant of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, revealed that the de facto reversal of his policies to liberate the Old Mass came as a heavy blow to the former pontiff, who died on Saturday at

Canonists cast doubt on the force of Responsa ad dubia on the Traditional Latin Mass

December 23, 2021

On Saturday 18th December a document was published by the Congregation for Divine Worship tightening up restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass: Responsa ad dubia. This is a clarification of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, answering questions (‘dubia’) sent to the Congregation by bishops. Since then canonists all over the Catholic world have been

Vatican liturgy chief: Traditional Latin Mass ‘abrogated by Pope St. Paul VI’

November 09, 2021

The Vatican’s liturgy chief has said that the Traditional Latin Mass was “abrogated by Pope Saint Paul VI.” Archbishop Arthur Roche made the comment in a letter dated Aug. 4 to the English Cardinal Vincent Nichols. The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was replying to a letter

Are papal priorities right?

September 30, 2021

Now is the time for the bishops to come into their own. The Pope, in his motu proprio – Traditionis Custodes – on restricting the celebration of Mass in the extraordinary form, the Tridentine rite, has said that any would-be celebrant must first obtain the permission of the local bishop. Hearteningly the signs are that

Squabbling over the Old Rite

August 29, 2021

The internal debate about the Latin Mass has little effect on the Church’s outreach and is unlikely to reverse the decline of Catholicism in the West

Standing firm and holding fast

August 26, 2021

The wisdom of Evelyn Waugh provides theological sustenance in these fractious times

Traditionis Custodes: When “professional Catholic” squabbling spills over

July 27, 2021

For millions of Catholics around the world who find comfort in the traditional Latin Mass, the fights of the rectory and professional Catholic class have once again struck them at home.