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The Old Pope and the Old Mass
Pope Francis, eighty-four, in his Letter motu proprio Traditionis custodes (July 16, 2021) and in his accompanying letter to the bishops, seems to have decided that the old Mass (also known as the “Tridentine Mass” or the “usus antiquior” or the “Extraordinary Form”) must die. This form of the liturgy—described by its adherents as the “Mass of the ages”—seems to have had its future in the Church cut off; no more old-Mass personal parishes or groups can be established; the old Mass is no longer to be celebrated in parish churches (where it might be readily accessible); and no priest ordained after July 16, 2021, is to celebrate the old Mass without permission, not just from his bishop but from the Vatican itself. It’s out with the old and in with the new!
This essay appears in the latest Quadrant.
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