On Religion: There’s More To Catholic Liturgy Wars Than The Latin Mass
(ANALYSIS) On the first Sunday of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV stood on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and did something that shocked some Catholics -- he chanted the Marian prayer Regina Caeli in Latin.
“Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia," he sang, leading to the crowd's response, “Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.”
In English, that would be: “Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.”
While many consider Latin chant controversial, the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music immediately launched a project called “Let's Sing with the Pope.” It offers “video tutorials on social media to help the People of God sing along with the Holy Father during the upcoming major liturgical celebrations,” said the institute in a caption on an Instagram post.
The goal, they added, is to "make the rich heritage of Gregorian chant accessible to all."
So far, Pope Leo XIV has not addressed ongoing debates about restrictions on use of the Tridentine Mass, often called the “traditional Latin Mass.” Bishops around the world have been pulled into these battles after the 2021 release of the Pope Francis apostolic letter “Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition).”
In 2023 remarks to Jesuits in Hungary, Pope Francis said stronger restrictions on use of the pre-Vatican II rite were necessary because of a state of “indietrismo” — or “backwardness” — caused by a “nostalgic disease” among many Catholics.
“After all the necessary consultations, I decided this because I saw that the good pastoral measures put in place by John Paul II and Benedict XVI were being used in an ideological way, to go backward,” he added, in a transcript released by a Jesuit journal.
While use of the Latin Mass remains a flash point, a controversy in the rapidly growing Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, has raised questions about the status of other liturgical traditions and symbols.
Bishop Michael Martin announced— citing “Traditionis Custodes” — that use of the Latin Mass would be discontinued in the four parishes that have recently been using the 1962 missal.
The rite would be offered at only one chapel, which is not a parish, in Mooresville, 30 miles from Charlotte. Originally scheduled for July, Martin has now delayed these changes until Oct. 2.
Also, in a leaked set of liturgical norms that appear to have been written before Francis died, Martin opposed “hybrid liturgies” in which older traditions are blended into the modern Novus Ordo Mass. The document was published by the Rorate Caeli ("Drop down, O heavens") website and has been verified by several Catholic publications.
These policy drafts were circulated within the bishop's staff and liturgical committees but have not been published.
The Charlotte bishop, appointed by Francis in 2024, stated his opposition to Latin prayers, Gregorian chant, many traditional vestments and "ad orientem" Masses in which priests do not face the congregation. Other proposed changes include bans on altar rails, worshippers kneeling to receive Communion, and crucifixes and candles on altars.
Concerning Latin texts, Martin wrote: "I cannot comprehend why a vocal minority of the faithful who themselves admit to not understanding Latin would advocate a revival of the Latin language within our diocese, rendering the liturgy unintelligible for all but a few of our people."
Efforts to embrace “Latin are not pastorally sensitive. ... There are several places that are introducing Latin Mass responses, Latin Ordinary chants, Latin antiphons and even the Memorial Acclamation and Our Father. Latin polyphony and motets are being sung at the Offertory and during the distribution of Holy Communion. All these parts are rendered less engaging by the use of Latin.”
On the issue of Latin prayers and hymns, Martin's critics have noted that 2007 guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops state that "care should be taken to foster the role of Latin in the liturgy, particularly in liturgical song."
During a recent Mass at St. Ann in Charlotte, which currently offers Novus Ordo and Latin Masses, Father Timothy Reid stressed that "bitterness and despair must find no place in our hearts" as worshippers prepare for changes that loom ahead.
“Don’t allow whatever anger you're feeling to be sinful," Reid said. "Let's not focus on what's being taken away but focus on what we're being given -- an opportunity to suffer a deprivation for Christ.”
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Terry Mattingly is Senior Fellow on Communications and Culture at Saint Constantine College in Houston. He lives in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and writes Rational Sheep, a Substack newsletter on faith and mass media.