Traditionis custodes: Five years on

Five years after Pope Francis restricted the Traditional Latin Mass, Joseph Shaw assesses the policy’s implementation, its unintended consequences and the questions it has left unanswered

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As the fifth anniversary of Traditionis custodes (“TC”) restricting the Traditional Latin Mass comes round, what can be said of its operation?

The Apostolic Letter given motu proprio (“by the Pope’s own initiative”) was published on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Pope Francis liked using Marian feasts for important occasions. This was a Friday, and it was to come into effect immediately: there was no time allowed for preparation (the usual vacatio legis). Since it required bishops to make all sorts of arrangements and either prohibit or give explicit permission for Masses which might be happening on that very Sunday, this was quite a challenge. Then again, the text was unclear in a number of ways, and there was no official Latin version.

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