A Faithful Remnant or Missionary Disciples? Latin Mass Catholics in the Church of Pope Francis

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Notes

Rod Dreher, “Have We Reached Peak Latin Mass?” The American Conservative (Jan 12, 2016), http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/have-we-reached-peak-latin-mass/.

Charles Pope, “An Urgent Warning About the Future of the Traditional Latin Mass,” National Catholic Register (Jan 7, 2016), http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/an-urgent-warning-about-the-future-of-the-traditional-latin-mass.

The Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei is often cited for information about the availability of the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) in the United States and Canada. The lay-led organization publishes Latin-English booklet Missals and a directory of Latin Masses. See http://www.ecclesiadei.org/information.htm.

Joseph Ratzinger, “What Will the Church Look Like in 2000?” in Faith and the Future (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1971), 103–104, here at 103–04.

Pope (see n. 2).

Dreher (see n. 1).

Pope (see n. 2).

Dreher (see n. 1).

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium [Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today's World], Nov 24, 2013, para. 17, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html.

Ibid., 24.

Dreher (see n. 1).

Unless otherwise noted, subsequent quotations are from responses to a questionnaire (including e-mails from respondents) received between April 26 and May 3, 2017. Out of forty-nine respondents, twenty-nine (59%) are “very discouraged” by the leadership of Pope Francis, and eleven (22%) are “somewhat discouraged.” Only three (6%) are “somewhat” or “very encouraged.” I received demographic information from forty-five people, including thirty-three men and twelve women. Their median birth year is 1980 (about age 37 at the time of the survey), born between 1936 and 1997. The year in which they first attended the Latin Mass ranges from 1945 to 2014, with 2004 the median year. Thirty-one (69%) currently attend the Latin Mass weekly or more frequently, and only five (11%) attend less than once a month. Respondents’ names are withheld by mutual agreement and in compliance with a protocol for protection of human subjects approved by the Institutional Review Board of St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology on April 20, 2017.

See Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum [Motu Proprio on the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to 1970], http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html.

Thomas C. O’Brien, ed., Documents on the Liturgy, 1963–1979 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1982), 537.

Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Circular Letter Quattuor Abhinc Annos, October 3, 1984, in L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly English Edition, Oct. 22, 1984.

John Paul II, Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei [Apostolic Letter on the Church of God], July 2, 1988, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_02071988_ecclesia-dei_en.html.

Benedict XVI, “Letter to the Bishops That Accompanies the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum,” July 7, 2007, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070707_lettera-vescovi_en.html.

Anthony Spadaro, “A Big Heart Open to God: An Interview with Pope Francis,” America 209, no. 8 (September 30, 2013): 30; Inés San Martin, “Francis Warns of ‘Rigid’ Liturgy, Confesses Soft Spot for Old Ladies,” Crux, November 11, 2016, https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/11/11/francis-warns-rigid-liturgy-confesses-soft-spot-old-ladies/.

Andrew Cameron-Mowat, “Liturgy in the Era of a Jesuit Pope,” Music and Liturgy 40, no. 3 (February 2015): 5–10.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, para. 24.

Ibid.

Try a web search with the terms “Pope Francis,” “kneel,” and “Eucharist.”

Apparently in response to criticism that he was not following the “rules” laid out in the Roman Missal for the Mandatum, Pope Francis officially changed the rubrics to make it clear that women as well as men may be selected to have their feet washed. See Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree In Missa In Cena Domini, January 6, 2016.

Interview, April 16, 2013.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, para. 95.

Inés San Martin, “Francis Warns of ‘Rigid’ Liturgy, Confesses Soft Spot for Old Ladies,” Crux (November 11, 2016).

Dreher (see n. 1).

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, para. 21.

Ibid., 16.

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Nathaniel Marx

Nathaniel Marx is assistant professor of sacramental and liturgical theology at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana.