Leo poised to grant ‘generous’ exemptions to Traditionis custodes, UK bishops told
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Sources close to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales told The Pillar that Pope Leo appears poised to grant widespread exemptions to Traditionis custodes, without revoking the motu proprio itself.
Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, gave a recent address to the plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, informing the bishops that the Vatican would “be generous” when asked to dispense from the restrictions to the traditional liturgy, a senior cleric told The Pillar.
According to one source present for the address, the nuncio explained that while Pope Leo is “not minded to change [Traditionis custodes], but as there are many different rites in the Church, there’s no reason to exclude the TLM.”
“The details were a bit blurry,” said one source. But the nuncio did convey that while pastors of parishes would still need the approval of their bishops to offer the extraordinary form in parish churches, and diocesan bishops still need to apply to the Dicastery for Divine Worship for permission, “Leo will ask Cardinal Arthur [Roche, prefect of the dicastery] to be generous.”
Earlier this week, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales met with the apostolic nuncio, as part of the conference’s plenary assembly. After the meeting, reports began to surface that the nuncio had conveyed Pope Leo XIV’s intention to permit more broadly pre-Vatican II liturgical celebration.
According to one cleric present for the nuncio’s address, although Pope Leo was not inclined to repeal the Francis-era motu proprio, “the impression [the nuncio gave] was that the pope wants the door to be left open and not narrowed or closed.”
“It was only one point among several” the nuncio made, The Pillar was told, and not the central theme of the nuncio’s address.
Since the election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year, there has been speculation about whether he might decide to roll back the requirements of Traditionis custodes, a 2021 motu proprio issued by Pope Francis which heavily restricted the celebration of the old form of the liturgy.
Among the new restrictions put in place by the document, bishops may designate locations for continued celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgy, but not in parochial churches or by the creation of new personal parishes.
Exceptions to this rule require direct authorization from the Dicastery for Divine Worship. Exemptions must be renewed every two years.
The restrictions caused a furor, with outcry from both attendees of the Traditional Latin Mass and critics who opposed the ecclesiology behind the new rules and the dicastery’s interpretation of them.
Responses to Traditionis custodes among the bishops have varied widely, leaving a patchwork of policies. In some dioceses, the Traditional Latin Mass continues to be celebrated much as it did before the motu proprio was released, while in others, it has been essentially banned.
Some dioceses were granted initial dispensations from the norms of Traditionis custodes for a two-year transition period, but under Pope Francis it was widely understood that no further extensions would be granted.
However, since Leo became pope in May, the Dicastery for Divine Worship has begun extending such dispensations and entertaining new ones, prompting speculation that the new pope may be open to easing or reversing the requirements created by his predecessor.
One source close to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said it appears from the nuncio’s comments that the pope wants the door to the celebration of the old liturgy to be left open.
The pope’s general approach seems to be “Todos, todos, todos - including devotees of the TLM,” the source said.
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