Summorum Pontificum
Summorum Pontificum is an apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued on 7 July 2007. This letter specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church could celebrate Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1962" and administer most of the sacraments in the form used before the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council.
It granted greater freedom for priests to use the Tridentine liturgy in its 1962 form, stating that all priests of the Latin Church may freely celebrate Mass with the 1962 Missal privately. It also provided that "in parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly accede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal" and should "ensure that the good of these members of the faithful is harmonised with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the bishop". It also granted use of the preconciliar Rituale Romanum and the Pontificale Romanum, for the celebration of all the seven sacraments, as well as allowing the Breviarium Romanum as revised under Pope Saint Pius X to clergymen ordained.
On 16 July 2021, Pope Francis abrogated Summorum Pontificum with the motu proprio Traditionis custodes which imposed new restrictions for celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
Background
The Roman Rite of the Catholic Mass has undergone, especially in the early centuries, various developments. In response to Sacrosanctum Concilium, the 1963 document of the Second Vatican Council, the rite was systematically revised, leading to the publication in 1970 of Pope Paul VI's revision of the Roman Missal, which some Traditionalist Catholics claimed constituted a rupture with what went before.Such concerns led French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to found a seminary and society of priests – the Society of St. Pius X – dedicated to the exclusive celebration of sacraments according to the traditional Roman Rite, in 1970. Canonically suspended by the Holy See in 1976, Lefebvre continued negotiations with Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II over the following decade. While these negotiations did not produce a regularization of the SSPX, they did induce John Paul II to issue a decree in 1984, Quattuor Abhinc Annos, providing a limited permission, or indult, to celebrate the traditional Roman Rite. However, many traditionalists, frustrated with the unwillingness of most bishops to implement the indult in their dioceses, demanded what they called a universal indult whereby all priests would be allowed to use the former rite even publicly without seeking any specific authorisation.
The SSPX, whose founder Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 following the Ecône Consecrations, thereafter made permission to use the Tridentine Mass as a preliminary condition for engaging in any doctrinal dialogue with the Holy See.
Contents of the
Name
As is customary for papal documents, the motu proprio is referred to by its incipit, the opening words of the original text: Summorum Pontificum. "Supreme Pontiff" is a title of the popes, and the opening sentence states that it has always been a concern "of the Supreme Pontiffs" that the Church should offer fitting worship to God.Summary of
Pope Benedict XVI released the document after "much reflection, numerous consultations, and prayer". In article 1 of the document, he spoke of "the typical edition of the Roman Missal, which was promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962", as "never abrogated". In the letter he specified this as "never juridically abrogated". In article 2 he stated that, "in Masses celebrated without a congregation, any Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use either the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII or the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and may do so on any day, with the exception of the Easter Triduum". For such a celebration with either Missal, the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary. In article 4, he said that these Masses celebrated without a congregation "may be attended also by members of the lay faithful who spontaneously request to do so, with respect for the requirements of law".The document superseded the letter Quattuor Abhinc Annos of 1984 and the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei of 1988, which had allowed individual bishops, under certain conditions, to establish places where Mass could be said using the 1962 Missal. It granted greater freedom for priests to use the Tridentine liturgy in its 1962 form, stating that all priests of the Latin Church may freely celebrate Mass with the 1962 Missal privately. It also provided that "in parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly accede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal" and should "ensure that the good of these members of the faithful is harmonised with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the bishop".
Regarding public Masses, the Pope asked parish priests and rectors of churches to permit, at the request of a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably existing in the parish, celebration of a Tridentine Mass on weekdays, but also one such Mass on Sundays and feasts, by a priest who is qualified and who is not excluded by law, and to grant permission also if requested "in special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages".
Apart from celebration of Mass, Pope Benedict authorised parish priests to grant, "after careful consideration" and "if advantageous for the good of souls", permission to use the older ritual in the administration of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick. He also allowed bishops, on the same condition, to use the earlier Pontifical in administering Confirmation, and permitted clergy to use the 1962 edition of the Roman Breviary. Bishops could establish "personal parishes" or appoint chaplains for administering the sacraments according to the old form.
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, whose role the document confirmed, was given authority to ensure observance of the rules laid down in the document. Stable groups of the kind mentioned in article 5 whose parish priest does not grant them their request should inform the diocesan bishop, who is asked to satisfy their desire. If he does not wish to do so, they should inform the Pontifical Commission, to which also a bishop who does not have the means to respond to their wish can have recourse for advice and assistance. The motu proprio allows what some traditionalists would call the novelty of proclaiming the Scripture readings "also" in the vernacular language in Masses with a congregation, and in the accompanying letter the Pope said that "new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal", a matter that he committed for study to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.
Conditions for use of the 1962 Missal
The conditions for the use of the 1962 Missal previously in force were replaced by the following:- "In Masses celebrated without a congregation, any Catholic priest of the Latin Church, whether secular or religious, may use either the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed John XXIII, or the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and may do so on any day, with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such a celebration with either Missal, the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary. The celebrations of Mass mentioned above... may be attended also by members of the lay faithful who spontaneously request to do so, with respect for the requirements of law."
- "In parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly accede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal. He should ensure that the good of these members of the faithful is harmonized with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church. In churches other than parish or conventual churches, it is for the rector of the church to grant the above permission." "Celebration according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII can take place on weekdays; on Sundays and feast days, however, such a celebration may also take place." The English translation omits the limitation on Sundays and feast days to a single such Mass. This limitation is expressed in the Latin text, which is what has juridical value. "For those faithful or priests who request it, the pastor should allow celebrations in this extraordinary form also in special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages." "Priests using the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be qualified and not prevented by law." Excommunication or suspension a divinis would be examples of legal prohibitions against celebrating Mass.
- If communities of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, wish to celebrate the conventual or community Mass in their own oratories according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, they are permitted to do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to have such celebrations frequently, habitually or permanently, the matter is to be decided by the Major Superiors according to the norm of law and their particular laws and statutes."
Article 2 of the motu proprio applies, without distinction, to priests of the Latin Rite, all of whom are therefore authorized to use, in Masses celebrated without the people, either the older or the newer form of the Roman Rite, even if they are also authorized to use another Latin liturgical rite, such as the Ambrosian Rite. It does not apply to priests of the Eastern Catholic Churches. It concerns only the Roman Rite and does not deal with use of older forms of other Latin liturgical rites, which is a matter for the authorities charged with regulating those rites.
With letter 13/2007 of 20 January 2010 the Pontifical Council Ecclesia Dei responded positively to a question whether a parish priest or another priest may on his own initiative publicly celebrate the extraordinary form, along with the customary regular use of the new form, "so that the faithful, both young and old, can familiarize themselves with the old rites and benefit from their perceptible beauty and transcendence". Although the Council accompanied this response with the observation that a stable group of the faithful attached to the older form has a right to assist at Mass in the extraordinary form, a website that published the response interpreted it as not requiring the existence of such a stable group.