Liturgy News

Popes Benedict XVI and Francis took sharply different paths in responding to communities who wanted to celebrate the old Latin Mass. It had been allowed as a concession by Pope John Paul II. Benedict removed almost all restrictions. Francis reinstated very limited opportunities to use the pre-Vatican II rite. Sitting in the back-ground was the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970.
Over half a century, the popes did everything possible to keep the SSPX within the fold of the Catholic Church. When four SSPX bishops were ordained in 1988 without papal mandate, they were excommunicated, but the ban was lifted by Benedict a decade later. At stake, however, was not only the use of the traditional Latin liturgy but the much broader questions of accepting the teachings of Vatican Council II and recognising the authority of the pope.

Since the election of Pope Leo XIV eighteen months ago, many Catholics have been wondering which way he would move on the celebration of the old Latin Mass. Leo has been cautious and has made unity a priority. He has actively sought to overcome polarisation in the Church and bring about harmony and reconciliation. His position on the old form of the liturgy however is becoming clearer as 2026 unfolded. He opted to devote his public Wednesday catecheses to an exploration of the documents of Vatican II. Since May he has been analysing the key tenets of the liturgy document, Sacrosanctum Concilium.

In the midst of this, at the beginning of July this year, SSPX went ahead with four more episcopal ordinations without Church approval. The reaction was swift and decisive. SSPX bishops and clergy with lay people who ‘adhere’ to the Society were declared to be excommunicated. Although they maintained they were the pure and uncorrupted Catholic Church, this declaration now made it clear that they have put themselves outside the Church and can no longer be recognised as Catholic. They remain, of course, part of the Body of Christ but interact with the Catholic Church on the same basis as other Christian denominations. The Church’s commitment to Christian unity has not changed – it embraces SSPX and all Christian denominations.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo’s catecheses on the liturgy continued (see News, p.11). At the beginning of the series in May, he had already set out clearly the Council’s principles for liturgical reform. On 26 August, in his last presentation on the liturgy document, he restated the reasons for embracing the reformed liturgy. He highlighted the provisions of SC 48 which said that people are present at the liturgy not as strangers or silent spectators but as participants, conscious of what they are doing with devotion and full collaboration. This, he said, establishes a true relationship with God and with the central event of our salvation in Christ. This is the reason why the Council promoted a reform of the liturgy – to open up the richness of the biblical texts and streamline the order of celebration so that all those present would be drawn into the liturgical action.

He returned to SC 21 which he cited at the beginning of his catechesis. This paragraph distinguished the divine immutable elements in the liturgy from the human elements which not only may but must change if they are out of harmony with the nature of the liturgy. He affirmed that since the liturgy is a living entity, throughout the centuries it has always been subject to developments and changes. Thus, he said, the liturgical reform promoted by the Second Vatican Council is firmly rooted in the living tradition of the Church. This reform came as the result of a process of renewal extending throughout the twentieth century.

He ended by pointing out that liturgical services are celebrations of the Church which is the sacrament of unity. He urged pastors to celebrate the reformed liturgy well, to safeguard and promote a liturgy which, while respecting liturgical norms, shines with noble simplicity and thus manifests the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Pope Leo has shown himself to be quite firm with those who have placed themselves outside the communion of the Catholic Church; he is unwilling to sacrifice the liturgical reform in the vain hope of holding the SSPX within the fold. For Catholics within the Church who desire to celebrate the ancient form of the Mass, he has made concessions but has shown no inclination to revert to the wider permissions given by Benedict XVI. Instead, he is explaining the way in which the reformed liturgy engages us with the saving mystery of the cross, and he is urging the Church to celebrate it faithfully and well so that it may be fruitful in people’s lives. Such a liturgy will be a vehicle for evangelis-ation, drawing all groups into the work of Christ in perfect unity with God.

Postscript: An Explanatory Note on Marriage

The priests of SSPX are validly ordained. For this reason, when the excommunication was lifted, they were granted faculties to celebrate Penance and Marriage even for Catholics in the Jubilee Year of Mercy 2015. However, after they moved into formal schism again in 2026, the Vatican clarified that SSPX priests administer sacraments illicitly, and that their celebrations of the sacraments of Penance and Marriage are invalid.

This change on the validity of marriage has surprised many but is actually in keeping with the rules for a valid marriage. A Catholic may be validly married in a Catholic rite before a Catholic minister. Before the minister of another Church or a civil celebrant, the marriage of a Catholic is only valid if there is a dispensation from canonical form. Now that SSPX priests are once again in schism, they cannot witness a valid marriage on behalf of the Catholic Church.

A marriage, of course, is contracted by the couple themselves: the bride and groom are the celebrants of the marriage. The Church’s minister is present as an official ecclesial witness. However, the Council of Trent made this a condition of validity – it was not required in the Middle Ages, but it is now (Can. 1108). The priest’s role in the marriage is not to do with the validity of his ordination but with his ecclesial status.

Tom Elich