German theologian's bitter attack on Latin Mass celebrated in St Peter's Basilica

Theologian sees problematic message in "Old Mass" in St. Peter's Basilica

 "Old Mass," new conflict: After the celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgy at St. Peter's Basilica, Andreas Odenthal warns against church-political symbolism. The recourse to pre-modern forms shows a need for stability – and is risky.

"Not innocent" is the view of Bonn liturgical scholar Andreas Odenthal regarding the celebration of the "Old Mass" at St. Peter's Basilica. If the "Old Mass" is celebrated again in the very place where the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which reformed the Mass, was adopted in 1963, it makes a significant statement regarding church politics. "And that's where things get very thin and the matter becomes highly fraught," Odenthal said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday.

Last weekend, the conservative American Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, with the permission of Pope Leo XIV, celebrated Mass in the old rite in St. Peter's Basilica. From a church-political perspective, Odenthal considers the celebration problematic: In the spirit of pluralism, he advocates for promoting the development of new, future-oriented forms of the Mass alongside the acceptance of the old form.

Liturgically "inconsistent"

Furthermore, the theologian explained, the celebration was liturgically "inconsistent." The cardinal celebrated Mass at a bronze altar from the 1980s, even though this altar was designed for the congregational Mass facing west. Even the vestments, while visually appearing old, were in reality, in his view, no more than ten or twenty years old. "What is the point of such a construct of a tradition that is ultimately no longer coherent?" Odenthal asked.

The truly crucial question, however, is: "What is this group's objective? And I imagine that one of their goals is to make a statement during the still relatively young Pontificate of Pope Leo." After all, the Church has been grappling for decades with the very meaning of Catholicism and tradition. In light of this, the celebration in St. Peter's Basilica represents a highly political statement. It demonstrates: "This isn't about a church service or the form of the service at all, but rather about the future political direction of the Catholic Church." Odenthal explained that this point troubled him because it instrumentalized the service.

What is so fascinating about the "Old Mass"?

The liturgical scholar recognizes in the adherence to the highly regulated, ritualized form of the "Old Mass" a "fundamental need of our time"—the search for stability: "In the manifold changes of our society and our Church, in the many challenges that we can hardly manage anymore, people want to have one firm anchor. I can understand that very well."

However, he is uneasy that the pre-Vatican II liturgy is primarily aimed at the clergy. For this reason, the Council Fathers of the Second Vatican Council classified this Mass as being in need of reform. Liturgy is always an expression of the Church's self-understanding. It will be exciting to see with which liturgical emphases Pope Leo will celebrate Easter.

Source