A little late to the dance, but I finally got around to reading the entire Crux interview of Leo. Here, I will offer my observations (hopefully without repeating much of what others have already stated).
First comment: Not one iota of what Leo had to say came as a surprise, nor did the reaction of those who, evidently still a little drunk on Leophoria, are in denial at just how disastrous his comments are for those who insist on calling him “pope.”
When asked about divisions surrounding the Traditional Latin Mass, Leo offered exactly nothing to indicate that he is interested in changing the course set by his humble predecessor.
In fact, at the very outset of the interview, Leo stressed his “understanding of some of the vision that Pope Francis had for the Church,” making it perfectly clear that he is determined to “carry that on in terms of a true prophetic vision for the church today and tomorrow.”
That “prophetic vision” obviously includes the liturgy.
After acknowledging that he has “already received a number of requests and letters” on the Traditional Latin Mass, he said:
The question about, people always say ‘the Latin Mass.’ Well, you can say Mass in Latin right now. If it’s the Vatican II rite there’s no problem. Obviously, between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the Mass of Paul VI, I’m not sure where that’s going to go. It’s obviously very complicated.
There’s much more to this answer than may initially meet the eye.
First, one notes that Leo doesn’t express even the slightest bit of empathy for those who took the time to write him a letter. Rather, he began his remarks by making fun of sincere Catholics who (snicker, snicker) speak colloquially of “the Latin Mass.”
And then came the snarky reply, You can say Mass in Latin right now.
This is Bergoglian level smart-assery, right on par with Francis making fun of the “rosary counters” who sent him a spiritual bouquet.
Getting to the heart of the matter, Leo says, if it’s the Vatican II rite it’s no problem.
To the attentive, two points immediately jump out:
First and foremost, notice that he refers to the so-called Mass of Paul VI as the Vatican II rite. In this, he is underscoring his conviction that the Novus Ordo Missae and the Second Vatican Council are inextricably linked, i.e., to embrace one is to embrace the other, to reject one is to reject the other. In this, he is of one mind with Francis.
In the Letter to the Bishops that accompanied Traditionis Custodes, Bergoglio stated of Vatican II with respect to the rite that emerged therefrom:
[At] Vatican Council II the Catholic episcopate came together to listen and to discern the path for the Church indicated by the Holy Spirit. To doubt the Council is to doubt the intentions of those very Fathers who exercised their collegial power in a solemn manner cum Petro et sub Petro in an ecumenical council, and, in the final analysis, to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.
NB: According to Francis, it is the will of the Holy Spirit as indicated at Vatican II that the conciliar church must “proceed in such a way as to return to a unitary form of celebration” (see Letter to Bishops cited above). This is what moved Bergoglio to insist that the Novus Ordo is the unique expression of the lex orandi of the conciliar church.
As for Leo?
Recall that in his first address to the Cardinals following his election, Leo pledged his “complete commitment to the path” of the Council as “masterfully and concretely set forth” by Francis in Evangelii Gaudium.
It appears that some folks need a reminder as to what that text had to say on the present topic: “In some people, we see an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy…” (EG 95)
Are you paying attention? Francis was pointing an accusatory finger at the same people who wrote letters to Leo expressing their love for the Traditional Latin Mass. And what did Leo do? He belittled them. He dismissed their concerns. So much for Leo being a kind and gentle father.
And let us not forget that Leo, at the very outset of the interview, once again made it perfectly plain that he has every intention of carrying on Bergoglio’s “prophetic vision.”
Second point: If it’s the Vatican II rite it’s no problem.
I think the upshot here is rather obvious: If it’s the Traditional Latin Mass, then it is a problem.
As for the notion that Leo isn’t sure where this issue is going to go, the only way to understand this without burying one’s head two-and-a-half feet deep in the sand is that he hasn’t yet decided exactly how to enforce Traditionis Custodes so as to bring to fruition Bergoglio’s (and the Council’s) vision of a church with just one reformed Roman Rite of Mass. [HINT: It’s already here, folks. It’s called the Novus Ordo Missae].
Leo went on to make his view of the two forms of the one Roman Rite perfectly plain. And guess what? It’s very much in keeping with that of Francis, who said:
Whoever wishes to celebrate with devotion according to earlier forms of the liturgy can find in the reformed Roman Missal according to Vatican Council II all the elements of the Roman Rite… (cf Letter to Bishops)
Leo echoed these sentiments, saying:
If we celebrate the Vatican II liturgy in a proper way, do you really find that much difference between this experience and that experience?
So, there you have it. The Resist-the-Pope crowd may not like it, but that’s Leo’s position: The Mass of Paul the Pathetic is every bit as good as the worn-out old Mass of Pius V. This being so, the entire conciliar church must be required to embrace either one or the other for the sake of unity.
Only the most naive among us can possibly imagine that this is anything other than a one horse race, and the TLM isn’t in it.
Leo elaborated further:
I’ve heard bishops talk to me, they’ve talked to me about that, where they say, ‘we invited them to this and that and they just won’t even hear it’. They don’t even want to talk about it. That’s a problem in itself. It means we’re into ideology now, we’re no longer into the experience of church communion. That’s one of the issues on the agenda.
The bottom line with respect to the TLM under Leo is that, as he sees things, the problem is with those who aren’t open to his – and Francis’, the Council’s, and ultimately the Holy Spirit’s – opinion.
In short, the divisions surrounding the Traditional Latin Mass about which he was questioned all come down to matters subjective, my experience vs your experience.
If the Novus Ordo done well, and even in Latin, doesn’t satisfy you? Well, then, there’s just no pleasing you.
That’s a bitter pill that some just refuse to swallow.
Just today, for example, Michael Matt went on social media to rally the donors… I mean, the clans, reminding them that “It ain’t over til the fat lady sings,” while sharing the wonderful news that Leo received Cardinal Sarah in audience this morning!
[Still, if you listen closely, you can hear Mama Cass singing “Send in the Clowns.”]
The Godfather of the Reist-the-Pope movement, Peter Kwasniewski, responded to Leo’s comments on the Traditional Latin Mass by writing on his Facebook page:
I have received confirmation from trustworthy sources that Pope Leo XIV is indeed open-minded on the TLM question, that he is willing to rethink and revise Francis’s policy.
The choice is yours:
Either take Leo’s own words on the liturgy at face value, or you can pin your hopes on unnamed sources, private meetings, and silly excuses (e.g., he needs more time, he’s not up to speed on the issue…)
In the next post, we will take a closer look at the remainder of Leo’s comments. What we’ll discover is that he doesn’t actually lay claim to being the Roman Pontiff, at least not as the Catholic Church conceives of the office.
