Pope Leo speaks on the Traditional Latin Mass

Pope Leo XIV has said that divisions over the Traditional Latin Mass risk turning into ideology, warning that the liturgy must never be used as a “political tool.”

His comments came in the second part of an interview with Crux, conducted by Elise Ann Allen, in which he discussed the aims of a new study group on the liturgy.

He explained that the group had been created to address the question of inculturation. “How to continue the process of making the liturgy more meaningful within a different culture, within a specific culture, in a specific place at any given time — I think that was the primary issue,” he said.

The Pope said he had also received many appeals concerning the Latin Mass. “I have already received a number of requests and letters about the ‘Latin Mass’. Well, you can say Mass in Latin right now. If it’s the Vatican II rite, there’s no problem,” he said. “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.”

He cautioned that arguments over the rite had often been used as a proxy for deeper disputes. “Part of that issue, unfortunately, has become — again — part of a process of polarisation. People have used the liturgy as an excuse for advancing other topics. It’s become a political tool, and that’s very unfortunate.”

Reflecting on the attraction of the older rite for some Catholics, he said: “Sometimes the, say, ‘abuse’ of the liturgy from what we call the Vatican II Mass was not helpful for people who were looking for a deeper experience of prayer, of contact with the mystery of faith that they seemed to find in the celebration of the Tridentine Mass.”

He suggested that the gap between the two rites might not be as wide as often claimed. “We’ve become polarised, so that instead of being able to say, well, if we celebrate the Vatican II liturgy in a proper way, do you really find that much difference between this experience and that experience?”

The Pope said he had not yet held formal discussions with groups promoting the Tridentine rite, but expected to do so soon. “It’s become the kind of issue that’s so polarised that people aren’t willing to listen to one another, oftentimes,” he said. “It means we’re into ideology now, we’re no longer into the experience of church communion.”

The comments highlight the challenge facing the Church as it seeks both fidelity to tradition and openness to renewal, with Pope Leo indicating that genuine listening and proper celebration of the liturgy will be key to resolving tensions.

(Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)