"A complete retraction of the decree [Traditionis Custodes] would be a fatal sign that a backward-looking view of the Church is a natural part of our Church"

The debate about restricting the "Old Mass" is gaining momentum again. But is this really just about the desire for liturgical diversity? Björn Odendahl doesn't believe that.

The discussions about the severe restrictions on the "Old Mass" never completely died down after the publication of the decree "Traditionis custodes" in 2021 and its implementing regulations. But after the death of Pope Francis, the debate has flared up again with greater intensity – including here on katholisch.de.

The survey commissioned by Francis in the local churches in advance of the decree, excerpts from which have now been leaked, has added fuel to the fire. The tenor: The late Pope interpreted it in a very one-sided and negative way in order to restrict the "Old Mass." The Vatican has since clarified that the survey results are incomplete and that further surveys have been conducted. But questions remain: Were the severe restrictions on the "Old Mass" justified, or was the liturgical diversity of the Catholic Church curtailed without reason?

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The fact is: The meticulous regulations make adherents of the "Old Mass" feel harassed and stigmatized. They retreat into their own confines even more than before. But it is also true that the "Old Mass" is not simply part of the Church's liturgical diversity or a culturally determined and regionally celebrated special form.

Rather, the "Old Mass" is often the liturgical expression of a parallel society within the Church. This is accompanied by the rejection of other achievements of the Second Vatican Council, the exaltation of the priesthood, and the disdain for lay people in general and women in particular. In short, adherents of the "Old Mass" often have a different view of the Church and the world, one characterized by a romanticization of the past.

It is not impossible that Pope Leo XIV will relax some of the implementing provisions of "Traditionis custodes" to pacify the followers of the "Old Mass." However, a complete retraction of the decree would be a fatal sign that a backward-looking view of the Church is a natural part of our Church.

Source

Cathcon: All this rhetoric to restrict the Latin Mass flies in the face of the modernist demands for inclusion and diversity.  It amounts to scapegoating and stereotyping. "A different view of the Church and the world, one characterized by a romanticisation of the past."   I have never met a traditionalist yet who romanticised the past.  There are however plenty of modernists who romanticise the 1960s and the Early Church.