Pope Francis has unequivocally confirmed that bishops must obtain authorization from the Holy See before granting permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Mass in parish churches and before allowing priests ordained after July 16, 2021, to use the 1962 Roman Missal. The latest instruction also makes clear that bishops cannot take the law into their own hands and interpret in a different way the restrictions on the Latin Mass issued by the pope in 2021.
The rescript was published today, Feb. 21, following an audience that Pope Francis granted on Feb. 20 to Cardinal Arthur Roche, the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who signed the rescript.
The rescript identifies the following reserved dispensations:
- “The use of the parish church, or the use of parish churches and or the erection of a personal parish for the Eucharistic celebration using the Roman Missal of 1962 (c.f.Traditionis custodes, Art. 3, par. 2)”;
- “The concession of permission to priests ordained after the publication of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes to celebrate with the Roman Missal of 1962 (c.f. Traditionis custodes, Art. 4).”