Leo XIV and the Traditionalist World

The release of two internal reports from Pope Francis’s global consultation of bishops on the reception of the Traditional Latin Mass rekindled a series of controversies over the past week, all centered on the place of older forms of worship in the life of the Church and the place of the people devoted to those forms.

How Pope Leo XIV decides to address the controversies—or rather, the issues driving them—will speak volumes about how he intends to govern the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI had liberalized the use of older liturgical books in 2007, with a motu proprio called Summorum Pontificum. His purpose was to heal a rift created in the wake of Paul VI’s new Rite of Mass, promulgated for the whole Latin Church in 1969 and essentially forced on the whole Church—priests and laity—with especial and unprecedented vehemence. Pope Francis, concerned that a rise in devotion to so-called “Traditionalist” sentiment not only appreciative of the older forms but actively hostile to the new was making considerable inroads, became convinced of the need to roll back Benedict’s liberalizing reform.

Before ordering the effective abrogation of Benedict’s reform and the severe restriction of the older forms’ use, Francis sought the opinion of the world’s bishops to gauge sentiment regarding the state of things in their dioceses. Francis had the CDF—as it was then styled—prepare a survey, to which bishops responded. It was supposedly on the basis of the responses to the survey, that Francis decided to restrict the use of the old books, which he did by means of his own motu proprio, Traditionis custodes, and an even more restrictive follow-up ruling on some of the provisions in TC from the Congregation/Dicastery for Divine Worship.

That was in 2021 and 2022.

Last week, journalist Diane Montagna obtained and published parts of two reports—never released officially either in whole or in part by Pope Francis or the Vatican under him—which complicate the official Vatican narrative. The two reports demonstrate that in reality, the bishops would have been in favor of maintaining the liberalization of the Traditional Latin Mass, as defined by the motu proprio of Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum.

According to the Vatican, the leaked reports were incomplete and partial. Some have pointed out that the reports did not contradict the reasons Pope Francis gave for his decision, since he never denied the fact that there were also good Catholics among those who wanted the traditional Mass, but who nevertheless could not fail to notice some para-schismatic characteristics of those who tied themselves to the ancient rite.

The publication of leaked documents reopens the debate and likely creates pressure on Leo XIV to take a decision on the matter.

What will Leo XIV do, then? The question deserves a broader answer, which does not only concern the possibility of celebrating in the ancient rite.

Leo XIV is a Pope of a new generation. He has always celebrated in the Novus Ordo. His entry into formation with the Order of Saint Augustine, ordination, first assignments, and advanced studies, all roughly coincided with the controversy over the Priestly Society of St. Pius X founded by Archbishop Marcel LeFebvre, which resulted in the excommunication of LeFebvre and four other bishops he illicitly consecrated, along with all the clergy attached to the SSPX. It would only be under Pope Benedict XVI that the excommunications on the surviving bishops would be lifted—not without serious controversy and bad communications management—and the SSPX continues to be in a “canonically irregular” state with the Church.

Benedict XVI had tied a healing of the schism to a doctrinal preamble that the Lefebvrians would accept, as part of the Second Vatican Council. They never went beyond that. It was clear, therefore, that the liturgical question was only part of a more complex problem.

Pope Francis has followed a more ambiguous line. He has called the Lefebvrians to be members of the tribunals, extended the validity of their confessions and marriages to them, and even recognized their confessions on the occasion of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy. At the same time, however, he has fought against the ancient rite, pointed the finger at those he called “backsliders,” and made it much more difficult to celebrate according to the ancient rite.

Pope Francis, in short, returned to the pre-conciliar model. Instead of trying to resolve the crisis with harmony, Pope Francis created the situation by making decisions that were, in some ways, divisive. Although he also pointed out in the constitution Praedicate Evangelium the primacy of the Second Vatican Council in terms of liturgy, Pope Francis acted as a pre-conciliar Pope, certainly not in a synodal manner and not according to a shared form of government.

The traditional liturgy is just one example of the pontificate’s many offerings. In general, Pope Francis did not choose dialogue. He chose the exercise of power.

Leo XIV is called to find his decision-making model. The Mass with the ancient rite is an outdated theme, in the sense that it concerns a small group of faithful, and ultimately does not harm anyone. It is not illogical to think that Leo XIV, who also sent a message of greeting to the traditionalist pilgrimage Paris-Chartres, returns to a practical liberalism, without changing the rules, but asking the local bishops not to strengthen them.

But from this choice, we must also understand the mode(s) of government that Leo XIV will decide to implement. Until now, his symbolic gestures have subtly winked at the traditional world (though never nodded), his political choices have instead generally looked more at the progressive world (although primarily deriving from decisions taken in the previous pontificate).

However, these categories no longer really serve as practical applications to real problems or—therefore—as tools of analysis. Leo XIV is instead called to recreate harmony, and he cannot do so by making unpopular decisions without considering the complexity of the issues at hand. The internal debate in the Church has reached a sort of crossroads, and it is on the path he decides to take that the government of Leo XIV can be judged.

For now, the Pope is immune to pressure. He is weighing his decisions, seeking a personal form of government, and listening to as many people as possible. It isn’t easy to imagine that the question of the Mass with the traditional rite is at the top of the Pope’s agenda. It is not difficult to imagine that he will decide on the matter sooner or later.

This decision will tell whether the Pope is seeking balance or whether he wants to take a specific ideological direction. However, the Pope’s actions cannot be judged solely by this decision. Time will tell whether the initial impression of a Pope who loves to celebrate Mass and be at the forefront of every procession and public event is supported by concrete facts and decisions in this sense.

However, one cannot expect a Pope ideologically aligned with the groups that have been driving debate in the Church for decades. He is a Pope of a new generation, and as such, he will address these issues.