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A leading Vatican cardinal has suggested that Pope Leo XIV should consider “opening” the door for the traditional Latin Mass after the tight restrictions under Pope Francis.
Speaking on 5 August to the Austrian Catholic website kath.net, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said: "Personally, I would appreciate it if we could find a good way forward here. Pope Benedict XVI has shown a helpful way by believing that something that has been practised for centuries cannot simply be banned.
“That convinced me. Pope Francis has chosen a very restrictive path in this regard. It would certainly be desirable to open the now-closed door more again."
His remarks come in the first few months of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, as many Catholics around the world await potential changes to the Vatican’s approach to the Traditional Latin Mass.
Pope Francis issued sweeping restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass in July 2021 through his apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes, which effectively reversed Benedict XVI's broader permissions laid out in Summorum Pontificum (7 July 2007). The restrictions were later reinforced by Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery forDivine Worship.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the most vocal defenders of the traditional rite, called Traditionis Custodes a "severe and revolutionary action of the Holy Father” in a statement that appeared on his website shortly after Pope Francis's apostolic letter.
Cardinal Burke has since confirmed that he has spoken with Pope Leo XIV regarding the future of the ancient liturgy and that he hopes for a return to the more permissive line of Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Koch, who has led the Vatican’s ecumenical relations since 2010, previously suggested that a synthesis of the Novus Ordo and the traditional rite might emerge in the future. In a 2020 interview with GermanVatican News, he proposed that "in the future there will be a reconciliation of the two forms, so that at some point we will have only one form as a synthesis instead of two different ones”.
Although Pope Leo XIV has remained largely silent on the Latin Mass since his election earlier this year, his tone and early actions have offered some encouragement to traditional Catholics.
Dr Peter Kwasniewski, a theologian and commentator on the liturgy, offered his perspective on Pope Leo's potential approach to the issue of the Latin Mass and changing the current restrictions when he spoke to LifeSiteNews following the new Pope's election.
"The Pope shows that he is sensitive to the language of symbolism and beauty, and especially to the normative value of tradition," Kwasniewski said.
In a notable development, the Vatican granted an exemption from Traditionis Custodes to St Margaret of Scotland Parish in the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, following a request by Bishop Michael Sis on 6 February.
No such exemption has been reported during Leo’s pontificate thus far. But as the Church awaits potential reforms in the autumn, Cardinal Koch’s words may signal a greater likelihood of a formal change in policy toward opening that “closed door”.
Photo: Cardinal Kurt Koch walks in the procession through St Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican, 13 April 2025. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images.)
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