Cardinal Raymond Burke has renewed his appeal in defence of the traditional liturgy, encouraging Catholics to “fight” even “at the cost of suffering” to ensure that the old rite remains accessible.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Speculum Iustitiae canon law conference held at his shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin, Cardinal Burke urged Catholics to redouble their efforts to promote and spread access to the traditional Mass.
He addressed his brief message to “those who are discouraged by the persecution of the traditional Latin mass that is presently going on”.
The old rite “is such a tremendous good in the Church”, said Burke, adding that “Our Lord will never permit that it be lost.”
“It is for us now, even at the cost of suffering, to fight for it that it be as available as possible to all the faithful who desire it.”
The cardinal’s message comes in light of increased speculation that Pope Leo XIV might ease restrictions imposed on the traditional Mass by Pope Francis and Cardinal Arthur Roche, by virtue of the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and subsequent rescripts.
This speculation has only increased following the episcopal consecrations on July 1 by the Society of Saint Pius X, after which the Vatican urged Catholics not to attend the Society’s liturgies. Many prelates and Vatican observers have argued that if the Holy See is forbidding Catholics from attending SSPX liturgies, then the provision for the traditional Mass should be increased and the restrictions removed.
Burke’s short message came just days after The Tablet published an interview with Cardinal Arthur Roche, the current prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship.
During his conversation, Roche attested that Leo XIV would not lift the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes, and also that Summorum Pontificum would not make a return. In Roche’s view, those asking for wider availability of the traditional Mass should be content with the provision already in place. “Well, the Holy Father has given you that, so what’s the problem?,” he questioned.
Roche’s five-year term as prefect of the DDW technically concluded in May, and there are rumours that he might yet be replaced, but as yet nothing has been announced by the Holy See.
Leo has certainly appeared more open to engaging with advocates of the traditional Mass than Pope Francis. Though the American Pope admitted himself to be uninformed on the matter last summer, he subsequently met with prominent figures who both celebrate the old rite and champion its cause.
He also granted Burke’s request to celebrate a traditional Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica for the annual Ad Petri Sedem Latin Mass pilgrimage held in late October. Observers viewed this at the time as a poignant event, given that permission for a Mass had been denied in the previous two years, and the last time a pontifical Mass at the Vatican was allowed for the pilgrimage was in 2020.
Though no concrete change in policy has emerged regarding Traditionis Custodes, Leo has given more signals of favour to the old rite. This spring he instructed the French bishops to find “concrete solutions” allowing for the “generous inclusion of those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Second Vatican Council regarding the liturgy.” The Pope is “particularly attentive” to the growth of Latin Mass communities, Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote on Leo’s behalf.
Whilst Leo is treading the middle ground of keeping Traditionis Custodes on the books, but encouraging bishops to be generous to the traditional Mass, many analysts suspect that this is an untenable situation in the long term.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
