Traditiones Custodes and Canon 87

How is the July 16, 2021 motu proprio being implemented around the US and the world?

• BY BRIAN KOPP*

The publication of Pope Francis’ July 2021 motu proprio Traditiones custodes has caused an uproar in the Catholic world, seemingly outsized given the small global prevalence of the Traditional Latin Mass. Otherwise known as the “Tridentine Rite” or “Extraordinary Form,” this latter title was first coined by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his July 7, 2007 apostolic letter Summorum pontificum, a term since abrogated by Traditiones custodes.

Summorum pontificum sought to restore the right of priests to offer the Traditional Latin Mass in its 1962 form, admitted that right was never abrogated with the introduction of Pope Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Missae in 1970, and recognized the right of laity to request it and the duty of bishops to positively respond to such requests.

Traditiones custodes sought to reverse these freedoms recognized and granted by Summorum pontificum, citing as its necessity a need for Church “unity” in its worship and the possibility of a rejection of Vatican II among Traditional Latin Mass adherents.

The relative merits of Traditiones custodes have been debated at length in the period following its publication, with many laity, bishops and cardinals clearly displeased with it and its tenuous grounding in Canon Law. Its intention was to strictly curtail the use of the 1962 Missal, slowly bringing its adherents into an embrace of the Novus Ordo Missae and preventing seminarians and newly ordained priests from learning or offering the old Mass.

The impact of this motu proprio on the actual prevalence of the Traditional Latin Mass since July 2021, however, has proven difficult to quantify. The earliest and, so far, most comprehensive attempt to evaluate its effects and the actions of local bishops as a result was that of the website traditioniscustodes.info. This survey-based website, established within days of the publication of Traditiones custodes, summarizes whether all, some, or none of a diocese’s Traditional Latin Masses were suppressed as a result. Furthermore, it documents any relevant statements from local bishops or chanceries, and, tellingly, whether a bishop employed Canon 87 in justifying their actions.

Canon 87 of the Code of Canon Law

Canon 87 states: “§1. A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church. He is not able to dispense, however, from procedural or penal laws nor from those whose dispensation is specially reserved to the Apostolic See or some other authority.”

Since Traditiones custodes represents disciplinary law not reserved to the Holy See, bishops may dispense their diocesan territory from it. According to the survey, about a half-dozen US bishops, as well as one from Jamaica, have specifically employed Canon 87 in permitting the continued presence of the Traditional Latin Mass in their diocese. A typical example was the July 19, 2021 statement of Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: “Where as according to canon 87, §1 of the Code of Canon Law, ‘A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that a dispensation will contribute to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church.’

“Therefore, I, the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, by the Grace of God and favor of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, do hereby decree…”

The good bishop then proceeds to exempt his diocesan Traditional Latin Masses from Traditiones custodes and grants that priests who already celebrate Mass according to the Missale Rom anum of 1962 in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are authorized to continue to enjoy this faculty upon request (Art. 5).

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois

An extensive search of English-speaking websites revealed that, at minimum, an additional 14 US and one UK bishop have referenced Canon 87 in granting their diocese full or partial exemption from Traditiones custodes, for a total of 22; this canon represents the primary bulwark individual bishops may employ against the complete suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass in their dioceses.

According to the traditioniscustodes.info survey, 25 dioceses have suppressed all Traditional Latin Masses, 36 have suppressed some of them, while 182 dioceses have not suppressed any Traditional Latin Masses.

That some bishops have effectively employed Canon 87 in protecting their Traditional Latin Mass communities may be a two-edged sword, with a Vatican not known for recognizing all nuances of Canon Law. Recently Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres, a relatively young priest of Puerto Rico, was summarily dismissed from his diocese by the Vatican. He had committed no canonical offense; his “crime” was refusing to impose a mandate on diocesan employees and priests for the mRNA Covid vaccine and signing religious exemptions for faithful who questioned the moral liceity of it.

However, in a move overlooked by many mainstream commentators, he was also the only Puerto Rican bishop refusing to ban his diocesan Traditional Latin Mass in the face of Traditiones custodes. All his actions were credibly and canonically defensible, and no canonical actions whatsoever were brought against him before he was removed. Yet the fact of his continued support of the Traditional Latin Mass could give pause to other bishops, especially those outside Traditional Latin Mass strongholds like the US and UK, who might otherwise contemplate employing Canon 87 in exempting their territories from Traditiones custodes.

Traditional Latin Mass in 243 Dioceses in the U.S. Reporting

182 Dioceses Have Not suppressed any TLMs

36 Dioceses Have Suppressed some TLMs

25 Dioceses Have Suppressed all TLMs

Source: traditioniscustodes.info

Traditional Latin Mass in 657 Parishes in the U.S. Reporting

49 Offered by the FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter)

39 Offered by Ecclesia Dei (orders or priestly associations)

576 Offered by diocesan priests (grace of the local bishop)

Source: Traditional Latin Mass Directory

Attempts to Quantify

Just after the publication of Traditiones custodes, The Pillar website set out to quantify just how many faithful were attending the Traditional Latin Mass, but this proved to be difficult, if not impossible. Instead, they combed through the Traditional Latin Mass Directory, a crowd-sourced online resource, in an attempt to identify where the Traditional Latin Mass was being offered, and who was offering it.

The implications of the results are important. They found that of 657 US reported venues offering the Traditional Latin Mass in the US, there were 49 in which the TLM was offered by the FSSP (the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter) and 32 offered by other “Ecclesia Dei” orders or priestly associations. That leaves 576 venues where the TLM is offered by diocesan priests, all of which continue at the good grace of their local bishop. However, any of them could be suppressed by the arbitrary removal of a bishop, such as was the case in Puerto Rico.

Of the approximately 17,000 active parishes in the U.S., The Pillar found that these 657 venues offering the Traditional Latin Mass represent less than 4% of all parishes in America, 576 (87%) of which are offered by diocesan priests. Great Britain does somewhat better, with 6.5%, or 157 venues, offering it, out of 2400 active parishes. France fairs a little worse, with only 1.5% to 3% of all active priests offering the Traditional Latin Mass.

This inequality is important given the tenuous ability of diocesan priests to offer the Traditional Latin Mass.

Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, celebrates the Eucharist in the extraordinary form with Benedictine monks in Norcia, Italy. (CNS photo/courtesy Populus Summorum Pontificum).