Throughout his papacy, the late Pope Francis waged war on traditionalist Catholics and the Latin Mass. He accused the priests who celebrate the Latin Mass — including those at my parish — of having a "mental imbalance, emotional deviation, behavioral difficulties."
He lambasted traditionalists as "rigid" and said "rigidity is a daily heresy” before saying the Catholic Church “still need[s] to fully implement Vatican II.”
It was not only unnecessarily cruel but also shortsighted, showing a profound misunderstanding about why people are drawn to the Latin Mass. In a world steeped in chaos, secularism, and hopelessness, people are desperately seeking something that gives their lives a higher purpose and meaning.
That cannot be found in places that practice what I call "morally therapeutic deism" — a theological disease that inflicts churches of all denominations, including some Catholic parishes — instead of authentic faith. Authentic faith requires discipline, sacrifice, and the desire to strive to live a better life. Morally therapeutic deism says we're good just as we are and need no deep spiritual change. In that case, you'd be better served by going to brunch on Sunday mornings.
In the Catholic Church, Latin Mass attendees tend to be younger, attend Mass regularly, and adhere to Church teaching on things like marriage and abortion. That's exactly what the Pope should strive for.
Instead, Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes, a papal document that gave Bishops the authority to suppress the Latin Mass in their diocese. Many, including Cardinal Cupich in Chicago, gladly took advantage of that opportunity and made the Latin Mass all but disappear from their dioceses.
It turns out, unsurprisingly, that Traditionis Custodes was based on a lie, as was reported back in July by Diane Montagna:
This journalist has obtained the Vatican’s overall assessment of the consultation of bishops that was said to have “prompted” Pope Francis to revoke Summorum Pontificum, Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter liberalizing the vetus ordo, more commonly known as the 'Traditional Latin Mass' and sacraments.
The previously undisclosed text, which forms a crucial part of the official report by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on its 2020 consultation of bishops concerning Summorum Pontificum, reveals that 'the majority of bishops who responded to the questionnaire stated that making legislative changes to Summorum Pontificum would cause more harm than good.'
The overall assessment directly contradicts, therefore, the stated rationale for imposing Traditionis Custodes and raises serious questions about its credibility.
When, on July 16, 2021, Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes, he said the responses to the questionnaire 'reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me and persuades me of the need to intervene.'
That reporting made it crystal clear that Pope Leo XIV had an obligation to undo the damage caused by Traditionis Custodes.
It appears Pope Leo XIV is heading in that direction:
The Diocese of Cleveland has confirmed that the Vatican has granted permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at two diocesan churches for a further two years.
— Deacon Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) October 21, 2025
Here's hoping that abomination Traditionis Custodes will be abrogated by Pope Leo XIV in the next… pic.twitter.com/6qahsIKIQG
The Diocese of Cleveland has confirmed that the Vatican has granted permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at two diocesan churches for a further two years.
The extension applies to St Mary’s Church on South Main Street in Akron and St Stephen’s in Cleveland, both of which had previously been granted limited approval to continue celebrating the liturgy according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
In an email to the Catholic Herald, Nancy Fishburne, Head of Communications for the diocese, said: “Yes, the Holy See granted a two-year extension of permission for the two remaining diocesan celebrations of the Latin Mass within the Diocese of Cleveland.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that "Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm...Simple justice requires as much."
This includes restoring the Latin Mass to the Catholic faithful and addressing the abuses hurled at us by Pope Francis, including an apology for the unfair attacks on priests and lay Catholics.
And for the first time in his papacy, I have faith that Pope Leo XIV will right those wrongs.