Rome Has It Wrong: The Problem is Not the Latin Mass

Since the Pope issued his Motu Proprio restricting the Latin Mass several months ago, I have spent a considerable amount of time reading, researching, discussing, and praying about the Mass - both the old (TLM) and the new (post-Vatican II).  I have come to the conclusion, with a big assist from the Pope, that the problem is NOT the Latin Mass.  The problem is the post-Vatican II new Mass. This statement is not an opinion, it is a fact that can and will be proven before the conclusion of this article.  

Scripture tells us that we can judge a tree by its fruit. (Matthew 7:16-20)

“16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Let’s use this scriptural measuring stick to evaluate the Mass.  The Latin Mass is a tree whose fruits are abundant. It is growing rapidly, it has vocations, it has large families, its adherents have almost universal acceptance of Church teaching on faith and morals, and the financial support from its parishioners is substantially higher than that of your average Catholic.

What are the fruits of the new Mass - the Mass celebrated at diocesan parishes around the world for the past 50 years?  Declining attendance, few to no vocations, rejection of several of the Church’s key teachings, low birth rates, and declining percentages of baptisms and marriages. 1

Article 1 of the Pope’s Motu proprio restricting the Latin Mass states the following:  “The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.”

To better understand what is being said here, we need to delve a bit deeper into this Latin phrase, lex orandi and its counterpart, lex credenti.   The USCCB has this to say:

Lex orandi, lex credendi has become something of a tenet of liturgical theology, especially in the years since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Literally translated, it means “the law of prayer [is] the law of belief.” Or, more simply, what we pray is what we believe. Or restated yet another way: our beliefs are the fruits of our prayer.  Of course, the main prayer of the church IS THE MASS.

Given the dramatic and disastrous loss of faith since the implementation of the new Mass in 1970 and its subsequent 50-year reign, our scriptural measuring stick clearly shows there is a big problem. 

If we take the Pope at his word and accept the liturgical tenet of Lex orandi, lex credenda, the only logical conclusion is that Catholics no longer believe because the prayer of the Church – which is the new Mass - no longer inspires or inculcates belief.

This raises a further question.  Why attack the Latin Mass when it is the new Mass that has problems?

Below the Motu Proprio’s surficial indictments of the Latin Mass over claims of divisiveness and a rejection of Vatican II lies a more substantial and foundational issue: a recognition, by the Vatican, of a fault line between the old and the new that is at the heart of Rome’s rejection of the Latin Mass.

The Latin Mass represents and engenders a more masculine, more muscular type of Catholicism which isn’t afraid to directly confront the moral evils of the world. It sees sin in black and white, it isn’t afraid to judge actions, it accepts its mission of evangelizing the world and converting one’s neighbor. It doesn’t make accommodations to the world. It is more concerned about a person’s immortality than their mortality -- thus the differences in vision with regard to worship during the COVID pandemic.

The Vatican and the Pope see this Catholic praxis as a threat to the post Vatican II spirituality promulgated and embodied in the new Mass.  This new spirituality seeks to accompany people, it makes accommodations with the world, and has fully embraced aggiornamento – which the spirituality of the Latin Mass largely rejects. It meets people where they are but never calls them to conversion; it refuses to judge actions for fear of being labeled judgmental, it is more concerned about climate change than abortion.  It embraces a “pastoral approach” and thus refuses to use Canon 915 to excommunicate recalcitrant politicians who publicly deny Church teaching because it views excommunication as a punishment, rather than as a medicinal remedy.

This is the real battle being waged: the battle of what it means to be Catholic.  It is a battle for the soul of the believer and of the Church. 

The growing popularity of the Latin Mass is a threat to this newer, post-Vatican II spirituality which is attendant with the new Mass.  This is the deeper, underlying reason for the Pope’s Motu Proprio. The Vatican’s concern is that the growth of the Latin Mass, which engenders this older spirituality, will inspire a return to it.

The new Mass, as currently constituted and celebrated, is a problem.  Statistically this is undeniable. It is on a demographic collision course with itself. If the Church is going to survive, its lex orandi must change.

1.   In the interest of brevity, I have refrained from citing stats and sources as most Catholics recognize and accept these realities.  However, with little effort one can find this information by doing some quick searches on the WWW. For example: https://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-church-statistics/