Pope Leo calls for French bishops to ‘generously include’ those attached to Traditional Latin Mass

Pope Leo XIV is calling for renewed efforts to resolve a major liturgical controversy, saying “a painful wound remains within the Church” in the wake of his two most recent predecessors’ attempts to address the matter.

The pontiff believes healing the wounds caused by the controversy “will require a renewed way of looking at one another, marked by deeper understanding of differing sensibilities.”

A letter sent to the Bishops Conference of France and signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, says the pontiff is “particularly attentive” to the controversy surrounding the use of the Traditional Latin Mass, which uses the missal that was replaced by the Mass of Pope Paul VI issued after the Second Vatican Council.

In 2007, after decades of often begrudging toleration from Church leaders, communities devoted to traditional worship were pleased when Pope Benedict XVI liberalized the use of the 1962 missal and other liturgical books.

Fourteen years later, in 2021, Francis abrogated Benedict’s liberalizing reform.

In the 2021 decree Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis greatly restricted the ability of bishops to permit the use of the 1962 Missal.

Observers across the spectrum of opinion in the Church were surprised by Francis’s decision, and even many of those broadly sympathetic to his position were taken aback by its heavy-handedness.

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The matter has been a source of frequently acrimonious tension and was unresolved when Leo XIV became pope in May of last year.

Both supporters and opponents of the use of the older Mass wondered what stance he would take.

A leaked document – obtained by reporter Diane Montagna – added another wrinkle to the story in July of last year, mere months after Leo’s election.

The document, a report of survey responses regarding the reception of the Traditional Latin Mass in dioceses around the world, seemed to indicate that most bishops were not opposed to the reforms of Pope Benedict, and the decree issued by Pope Francis was issued under false pretenses.

RELATED: Pope Leo speaks to Crux’s Elise Ann Allen the liturgy

In an interview with Crux Now last July, Pope Leo said he had not yet spoken to proponents of the Latin Mass, but knew it was an issue.

“I do know that part of that issue, unfortunately, has become – again, part of a process of polarization – people have used the liturgy as an excuse for advancing other topics. It’s become a political tool, and that’s very unfortunate,” he told Elise Ann Allen.

“I think sometimes the, say, ‘abuse’ of the liturgy from what we call the Vatican II Mass, was not helpful for people who were looking for a deeper experience of prayer, of contact with the mystery of faith that they seemed to find in the celebration of the Tridentine Mass,” the pope said in the 2025 interview.

“Again, we’ve become polarized, so that instead of being able to say, well, if we celebrate the Vatican II liturgy in a proper way, do you really find that much difference between this experience and that experience?” Leo told Allen.

France has a high percentage of Latin Mass supporters, and the letter to the bishops is likely to give other countries an idea of the pope’s current standing on the Latin Mass.

“Finally, dear brothers, you intend to address the delicate question of the liturgy, to which the Holy Father is particularly attentive, in the context of the growth of communities linked to the Vetus Ordo [the Traditional Latin Mass],” the letter from Parolin says.

“It is troubling that a painful wound remains within the Church regarding the celebration of the Mass, the very sacrament of unity,” the statement continues.

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“Healing it will require a renewed way of looking at one another, marked by deeper understanding of differing sensibilities — so that brothers, enriched by their diversity, may welcome one another in charity and in the unity of faith,” says the letter, which was written in French and translated by Crux Now staff.

“May the Holy Spirit inspire you with concrete solutions that generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, while respecting the liturgical orientations of the Second Vatican Council,” the statement adds.

Supporters of the traditional liturgy will be most pleased by the phrases “enriched by their diversity, may welcome one another in charity and in the unity of faith” and “May the Holy Spirit inspire you with concrete solutions that generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, while respecting the liturgical orientations of the Second Vatican Council,” which are much more in line with what Pope Benedict had written and seems to a change the direction taken under Pope Leo.

However, the new pope has seemed to emphasize the continuity of the papacy, and has been loathe to be seen as being opposed to Pope Francis.

This means Traditionis Custodes is still officially in place, although how it is enforced might be changing.