From the editor’s desk

Dangers of a narrow faith

Pope Benedict XVI has made it clear that he would like to end the almost universal prohibition on celebration of the Tridentine Mass. He has run into some opposition, and the reasons are worth examining. One of the few exceptions to the prohibition was an indult (the technical term for permission to deviate from Church law) obtained by the bishops of England and Wales, which gave individual bishops in those countries the power to authorise the rite on specific occasions. The funeral of an elderly priest was often cited as an example. But the English and Welsh bishops were aware that the Tridentine Rite was regarded in some ultra-conservative quarters as the only valid form of Mass. In a wider constituency than that, it was still regarded as a flag of defiance against the whole Second Vatican Council. So they have been careful to limit its use to situations of pastoral need, so that it did not become the focus of an undeclared schism.

They are said to be passing on to the Pope the benefits of their experience of that indult, to help him shape the change in canon law that would be required. There is one important lesson they have learned: that the bishops must be allowed to keep control, to monitor the use of the rite, and to prevent altar being set up against altar. Indeed, some of the things being said by supporters of the rite who are eagerly looking forward to the Pope's proposed motu proprio are a warning of what could happen. Some Catholics hold to, and expect others to observe, a very narrow definition of the faith. Theirs is a kind of Catholic Puritanism which, like the Protestant Puritanism of the seventeenth century, tends towards scrupulosity and even, on occasion, bigotry, witch-hunts and paranoia.

This is not just theological conservatism but cultural too. They want to reinstate not just the words of the Tridentine Rite but its ambience and choreography - the priest with his back to the congregation muttering in Latin; the people following as best they can in Latin Missals or just quietly praying their rosaries; no eucharistic ministers, no girl altar servers, no lessons read in English, and no exchange of peace. Given that Latin can still be used without anyone's permission in the current version of the Mass, as can plainsong, and that the principal prayers such as the Gloria, Credo and Agnus Dei are the same in old and new rites, it is fair to ask what else it is the Tridentinists are after.

The Pope may feel that a small gesture of reconciliation towards the liturgical conservatives may wean them away from more extreme theological positions. But that has to be judged case by case or the opposite might happen, and the Vatican cannot micro-manage such a process from afar. Bishops must remain in charge. Indeed, given that the guardianship of the eucharistic mysteries is one of a bishop's most important duties, this is a dangerous area in which to have his authority undermined by Rome.

The Tridentine Rite itself is capable of great beauty, and modern celebrations of the Mass have much to learn from it. If a sense of the mystical has been allowed to escape from the modern liturgy, wider acquaintance with it might point towards a remedy. But it needs handling with care - as it has been handled successfully so far in England and Wales.