Freedome for the Traditional Latin Mass

The rumors regarding this have been steadily growing all week. Since Sunday, we have increasingly heard that something was imminent. Yesterday, ACIPrensa published in Spanish that the Holy Father would grant freedom to the Traditional Latin Mass. And today, our dear friends at the extremely trustworthy Archivum have published that His Holiness actually signed yesterday the papal act granting (or recognizing) this freedom (Archivum reminds its readers that this has always been one of the negotiating conditions for the Society of Saint Pius X).

We had been shy to report this (which is why we suggested the "grain of salt") because some extremely important details, regarding the exact nature of the act itself and of the amplitude given (or recognized) to priests, are still missing. When we have the details (and when we can confirm the date of signing), we will post them as soon as possible.

P.S. We are still somewhat doubtful -- not because we do not trust these sources, but because this optimism seems familiar to us and may lead to disappointment. We really need to see this published... Let us pray, let us pray!

I had a dream last night that I was talking to my bishop about this very thing. I wanted to know when wwe'd see the Tridentine Mass at all out churches since the Holy Father had issued his instruction (it was a dream so I don't know exactly whatthe instruction was) and the bishop was saying that he had to train all his priests to celebrate mass in Latin. It was very clear and stayed with me all morning.

Depending on how much, or little, ancillary verbiage is included in Benedict's promulgation, this *could* be a very "bad" thing. If permission is given for universal use of the 1962 Missal, without any explicit permission of diocesan ordinaries required, it is more than possible that, in many dioceses, the bishop will feel that it is permitted to entirely do away with the existing indult Latin Mass(es) in the diocese, on the grounds (excuse) that any priest can say it anywhere. But then it will be "understood" by the priests of the diocese that, if they want advancement or lack of "hard duty" assignments, they'd better "do the right thing" and avoid saying Mass from the 1962 Missal. The Latin Mass will thus be in a worse position in many areas than before the papal pronouncement. Latin Mass congregations will be scattered, and "divide and conquer" will rule the day.

I note that the exact scope of what's coming isn't very clear. I'm still hoping that Benedict will actually wind-up creating an apostolic administration (along the lines of Campos, only world-wide) for TLM, or perhaps create a patriarchate for it out of the ashes of his recently disavowed title of Patriarch of the West. THOSE options would protect the Latin Mass much more effectively than a universal indult running side-by-side with concerns for collegiality. A universal indult can only work with *lots* of specific, foundational "extras" that will shield existing indult parishes from closure, and shield seminarians and priests who want to learn or say the Latin Mass now in their local parishes from the retributions of their ordinaries, many of whom, we all know, would be twitching to cast off to the nether regions any priests with unprogressive designs on the 1962 Missal!

If the scope of this pronouncement is confined to a universal indult, I hope that Benedict isn't overawed by the concepts of collegiality that made his predecessor far less effective than he could have been. He needs to "direct" these changes, rather than merely "propose" and "encourage" them! And I still think that an apostolic administration or newly-minted patriarchate would better serve our needs in the long term.

As would I. But it's better if real protections are built-into the promulgation to begin with, and then strictly enforced by Rome. Here in Boston, I've seen more than my share of priests get shafted for doing what is right, in this and other matters, in mild defiance of the bishop who is flouting canon law, rubrics or decorum, as the case may be. Appeals to Rome are notoriously slow, and the process is skewed in favor of the bishops in most cases. Putting teeth in the legislation would at least help those priests with the nerve to reserve a Sunday Mass in their parish for the Tridentine Rite.

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