Traditionis custodes
Traditionis custodes is an apostolic letter issued motu proprio by Pope Francis, promulgated on 16 July 2021 regarding the continued use of pre-Vatican II rites. It restricts the celebration of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite, sometimes colloquially called the "Latin Mass" or the "Traditional Latin Mass". The apostolic letter was accompanied by an ecclesiastical letter to the Catholic bishops of the world.
The Congregation for Divine Worship has stated in an official instruction that the Latin version of Traditionis custodes "is the official text to be referenced".
Background
Liturgical reforms after Vatican II
In 1969, the first new edition of the Roman Missal based on the revisions of the Second Vatican Council was promulgated, instituting a new form of the Roman Rite's Mass liturgy. Often referred to as the Mass of Paul VI, this edition of the Roman Missal was produced in Latin with consideration that it was to be translated into the vernacular. The first edition of this missal was published in 1970, around one year after its promulgation. It replaced the Roman Missal of the Tridentine Mass, the last edition of which was promulgated in 1962, as well as the various vernacular translations that are often referred to as the "1965 Missal", though themselves not a new form of the Roman Missal. In 1971, the Liturgy of the Hours – also prepared with expectation of translation into the vernacular – was introduced to replace the 1960 edition of the Roman Breviary as the primary form of prayer for the canonical hours within the Latin Church.John Paul II
in Quattuor abhinc annos in 1984 liberalised the use of the Tridentine Mass, while still maintaining limitations on its use. This liberalisation was further expanded by the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei in 1988.''Summorum Pontificum''
In 2007, Benedict XVI published the apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum which stated that while the Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is "the ordinary expression of the lex orandi of the Catholic Church of the Latin Rite", the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Pius V and revised by John XXIII is nevertheless to be considered "an extraordinary expression" of the same lex orandi of the church. The Tridentine Mass was thus called the "Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite", and the Mass of Paul VI the "Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite".Benedict decreed that "any Catholic priest of the Latin rite" may use either form and "needs no permission" from his bishop or from the Holy See to do so. He concluded then that "these two expressions of the church's lex orandi will in no way lead to a division in the church's lex credendi , for they are two usages of the one Roman rite". Benedict also wrote that faithful could complain to their bishop or even to the Holy See if their requests for celebration of the extraordinary form were denied. This apostolic letter of Benedict XVI, in brief, allowed any priest of the Latin Church to celebrate the Tridentine Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962 without needing to have his bishop or the Holy See's permission. "Prior to that law, priests and faithful who wished to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass had to request explicit permission from their bishop. It could only be offered to those who requested it; it was not allowed to be on the normal Mass schedule for parish churches; and the bishop could set specific days and conditions for its celebration".
Before the publication
In 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a letter to Catholic bishops of the world to ask them to report on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in their dioceses. The results of this survey were not made public.In May 2021, less than two months before Traditionis custodes was published, a rumor said that during a "closed-door question-and-answer session" with the members of the Italian bishops' conference, Francis stated that the draft of a text restricting the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Mass was awaiting his approval.
Traditionis custodes was published two days after Francis returned to the Vatican after nine days in hospital.
Content
Traditionis custodes not only repealed the changes liberalising use of the Tridentine Mass in the motu proprio ''Summorum Pontificum'', which had been issued by Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2007, but it also went further to limit the practice of the Tridentine Mass.The apostolic letter is divided into 8 articles.
Article 1
In the first article of the apostolic letter, Francis writes that the liturgical books issued by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II after Vatican II are "the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite".Article 2
The second article states that it is a diocesan bishop's "exclusive competence" to authorise the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese "according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See".Article 3
Another measure is that "he bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970" has "to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs".Moreover, the diocesan bishop has "to designate one or more locations", excluding the parochial churches and without erecting new personal parishes, where the faithful adherents of those groups may gather to perform Tridentine Mass. In short, bishops must find alternate locations for groups practising the Tridentine Mass without creating new parishes.
The diocesan bishop must also establish "the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962" and ensure that the readings are "in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective episcopal conferences".
Furthermore, the diocesan bishop must appoint a properly trained priest as his delegate to perform the Tridentine Mass and supervise groups that practice it. The priest must be familiar with the Tridentine Mass and have an understanding of Latin sufficient "for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts". "This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful".
The diocesan bishop also has to "verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them".
The diocesan bishop must not "authorize the establishment of new groups". The Associated Press paraphrases: "bishops are no longer allowed to authorize the formation of any new pro-Latin Mass groups in their dioceses".
Articles 4 and 5
Priests ordained after the publication of the motu proprio who wish to celebrate Mass according to the Tridentine Mass "should submit a formal request to the diocesan bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization". Priests who already celebrate using the Roman Missal of 1962 "should request from the diocesan Bishop the authorization to continue to enjoy this faculty".Articles 6 and 7
and societies of apostolic life that were established by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei—which was created by John Paul II in 1988 and merged into the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2019—now fall under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.Both the CICLSAL and the Congregation for Divine Worship "for matters of their particular competence, exercise the authority of the Holy See with respect to the observance of these provisions", which means that requests are to be sent to those two dicasteries, which exercise the authority of the Holy See in overseeing those provisions.
Article 8 and effect
The last article declares: "previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu Proprio are abrogated".The dispositions in the apostolic letter took effect immediately.
Accompanying letter
Pope Francis also released an ecclesiastical letter to the bishops of the world along with Traditionis custodes explaining his decision, the same way Benedict XVI had done with Summorum Pontificum.Introduction
In the letter accompanying the document, Francis explains that the concessions granted by his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI for the use of the 1962 Roman Missal were above all "motivated by the desire to foster the healing of the schism with the movement of Mons. Lefebvre". The request directed to the Catholic bishops to generously welcome the "just aspirations" of the members of the faithful who request the use of this Missal was also motivated by "the ecclesial intention of restoring the unity of the Church", writes Francis. He adds that he believes "many in the Church came to regard this faculty as an opportunity to adopt freely the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and use it in a manner parallel to the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Paul VI".Francis recalled that Benedict XVI's decision promulgated with the motu proprio ''Summorum Pontificum, as well as John Paul II's decisions promulgated by Quattuor abhinc annos and Ecclesia Dei'', were sustained by the confidence that "such a provision would not place in doubt one of the key measures of Vatican Council II or minimize in this way its authority". Francis also noted that Pope Benedict had called in 2007 "unfounded" the fear that parishes would be divided by the use of two forms and believed that the two forms would, Benedict said, "enrich one another".