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It's not clear what will become of recently founded institutes attached exclusively to the pre-Vatican II Mass now that Pope Francis has strictly curtailed the Old Rite
By Matthieu Lasserre | France
In the flood of reactions to Pope Francis' decision to strictly curtail celebration of the Old Latin Mass, the fate of traditionalist religious institutes remains a looming question.
Rome took two strong actions last year to limit liturgical celebrations in the Tridentine Rite and this leaves recently founded religious institutes linked to this pre-Vatican II ritual with an uncertain future.
These institutes are known as "Ecclesia Dei" communities.
Their name comes from the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", which was set up in 1988 to help facilitate the return of Catholics attached to the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist group founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefevbre that had just gone into schism.
When Benedict XVI allowed widespread use of the Tridentine Rite in 2007, he gave the "Ecclesia Dei" Commission the additional competence of regulating religious institutes that Rome allowed to be set up to celebrate Mass and the Sacraments exclusively in the Old Rite.
However, Francis disbanded the commission in 2019.
"I see this as the neutering of our institutes"
The "motu proprio" Traditionis custodes, which he issued in July, and then the responsa ad dubia ("answers to doubts"), which the Congregation for Divine Worship published last month, state clearly that the post-conciliar liturgy, known as the Missal Paul VI, is "the unique expression of the lex orandi", that is, the exclusive "law of prayer" of the Roman Church.
The limited permission to use the pre-council liturgical books is therefore only a "concession" and in no way an "opportunity to promote" the perpetuation of the pre-Vatican II rituals.
By virtue of these papal decisions, the development of the "Ecclesia Dei" institutes seems impossible and their future uncertain.
In particular, it should no longer be possible for them to celebrate ordinations in the Tridentine Rite.
"I see this as the neutering of our institutes," lamented Father Benoit Paul-Joseph.
He's the French district superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), a group founded in 1998 by several SSPX priests who wanted to remain in communion with Rome.
"Our seminary has 180 young people who will not be able to be ordained according to the rite for which they entered," said Father Paul-Joseph.
"It's frightening, we don't know what will become of them," the traditionalist priest said.
No more weddings, baptisms and confirmations in the old form
Rome's clarifications in December also make it clear that the Old Mass is not to be encouraged.
"They explain that traditional Masses should not appear on the parish bulletin," Father Paul-Joseph said.
"We almost need to hide," he added.
Weddings, baptisms and confirmations in the Old Rite are also limited to personal parishes, which – in France – can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Many superiors of "Ecclesia Dei" communities believe the responsa ad dubiaare in contradiction with their statutes, which were actually approved by the Holy See.
"Our constitutions, validated by Rome, are clear: we have the use of ancient liturgical books," insisted Father Mateusz Markiewicz, superior of the European district of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, which was erected in 2006.
"There is an obvious contradiction between our statutes and the recent measures," added Father Paul-Joseph of the FSSP.
These constitutions would thus fall under the "acquired right", guaranteed by canon 4 of the Code of Canon Law.
A problem that's less juridical than political
"The problem is less legal than political," said Thibault Joubert, a professor of canon law at the University of Strasbourg.
"Because acquired rights cannot go against the need for ecclesial unity," he pointed out.
But the recent measures taken by the Vatican are justified by the fear of the development of a parallel Church that rejects the Second Vatican Council and thus harms communion within the ecclesial body.
However, Joubert said bishops should not rush to enforce all these measures.
"First, a canonical clarification is necessary, and discussions between traditionalists and Rome will be crucial to measure their integration in the Church," said the canon lawyer.
"They will undoubtedly have to make concessions, notably by celebrating Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI," he said.
"The communion that the pope is asking for will not happen instantaneously"
In France, where the "Ecclesia Dei" communities are well established, a period of dialogue between the bishops and the traditionalists will begin.
"Before thinking about the future, we must not act abruptly in the present," emphasized Bishop Luc Crepy of Versailles, a diocese where there are numerous Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II liturgy.
"The communion (the pope) is asking for will not happen instantaneously," said Crepy, who is a member of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists) and was appointed to Versailles just last year.
"We are going to meet with the priests and the faithful who are worried," he said.
The 63-year-old bishop said this is what Pope Francis asked him and his confreres to do when they met with him in Rome during their "ad limina" visits, which came just after the publication of Traditionis custodes.
Several bishops raised the subject during the closed-door talks with the pope on this occasion.
Some who belong to institutes that are dedicated to the Tridentine Rite believe the issue of the future is already raising the question of full membership in the Roman Catholic Church.
"The traditionalists will go underground and we won't be able to control anything," said a diocesan priest who celebrates Mass in both the Old Rite and the Rite of Paul VI.
The temptation to join the SSPX -- which is still in schism -- is growing among some seminarians and priests.
"It's a real concern," confided a leader of an "Ecclesia Dei" institute in France.
"They say: 'We warned you that they would go back on their word'," the priest said.
Everyone will have to decide. Breaking with Rome will be difficult, but now that the SSPX is less ostracized than it was a few years ago and their sacraments are recognized by the Holy See, some people are wondering," he said.
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