Could Pope Francis ever remove the Latin Mass?

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misstherese

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Could he? Could he or any future pope “undo” Summorum Pontificum?
 
In theory he could. Though groups like the SSPX would continue to celebrate the older form… it wouldn’t go away completely.
 
I would hope he or his successors don’t. I am not a fan of the Latin Mass, I find it archaic, but for those who like it, I hope it stays.

there is an old thought that if you want to denigrate something, don’t attack it directly, but rather praise its opposite. If at some time the Magesterium wanted to do away with the Latin Mass, they would probably promote and glorify the NO to a greater degree, moving those who like the LM back to their preferred method.
 
misstherese said:
Could he? Could he or any future pope “undo” Summorum Pontificum?
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Could the Holy Father undo Summorum Pontificum? Yes.

Would he? I don’t think there is a prudent reason to do so. If he wanted limit it, I think he would just find ways to make finding a priest harder. But outright reversal would cause, in my opinion, an unnecessary head ache for Rome.
 
joeybaggz said:
there is an old thought that if you want to denigrate something, don’t attack it directly, but rather praise its opposite. If at some time the Magesterium wanted to do away with the Latin Mass, they would probably promote and glorify the NO to a greater degree, moving those who like the LM back to their preferred method.
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I think this is very true… the easiest way to eliminate the Latin mass would be to force the Ordinary form to simply perform the Kyrie eleison in Greek, and the Gloria, Sanctus or/and Agnus Dei in Latin.

If they required the Kyrie to be in Greek and all or a few of the above to be in Latin, many people who prefer Latin Mass would be happy.
 
That won’t happen. Using terms like “glorifying the NO” doesn’t help your case.
Pope Francis is a good Pope. Leave it there.
 
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Do you think if a pope did that, the effects wouldn’t be good? I do know that there are some rad trads who are particularly fond of division, it seems. I’ve read that he was considering it, apparently from Vatican sources, but I find myself doubting it. Here’s the quote,
The overheard plans are nearly identical to comments from an important Italian liturgist in an interview published by France’s La Croix earlier this month. Andrea Grillo a lay professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St Anselmo in Rome, billed by La Croix as “close to the Pope,” is intimately familiar Summorum Pontificum. Grillo in fact published a book against Summorum Pontificum before the papal document was even released.

Grillo told La Croix that Francis is considering abolishing Summorum Pontificum. According to Grillo, once the Vatican erects the Society of Saint Pius X as a Personal Prelature, the Roman Rite will be preserved only within this structure. "But [Francis] will not do this as long as Benedict XVI is alive.
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How likely does this sound?
 
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I think they would wait to see the fruits. And I would not underestimate the power that Summorum Pontificum ‘unleashed’.
 
misstherese said:
The overheard plans are nearly identical to comments from an important Italian liturgist in an interview published by France’s La Croix earlier this month. Andrea Grillo a lay professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St Anselmo in Rome, billed by La Croix as “close to the Pope,” is intimately familiar Summorum Pontificum. Grillo in fact published a book against Summorum Pontificum before the papal document was even released.

Grillo told La Croix that Francis is considering abolishing Summorum Pontificum. According to Grillo, once the Vatican erects the Society of Saint Pius X as a Personal Prelature, the Roman Rite will be preserved only within this structure. "But [Francis] will not do this as long as Benedict XVI is alive.
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I’m almost certain this was found to be untrue.
 
He could just as Pope Benedict restored it to a position where the local bishop had no authority to suppress it. He has even been heard in private to express sadness that the Latin Mass has grown as fast as it has. I think it is disturbing to hear a pope say this.
 
Well it is no secret that Pope Francis strongly dislikes the Latin mass, and while I wouldn’t put it past him to do something such as this, I doubt the story is completely true. I think he would realize that the backlash would be too great to handle and would cause far more problems for him than it would solve. I think the Latin mass is safe, especially while former Pope Benedict lives.
 
Liturgies suppressed and promulgated at the whim of one Bishop. The fact that this question is credibly asked and the answer isn’t NO is HUGELY problematic.
 
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict, expressed similar concerns.
That being said…let’s be realistic. Can you name one liturgical reform that was enforced top down by “one bishop” (the Pope) in a vacuum? I can’t. The Novus Ordo promulgated by Blessed Paul VI was in response to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council who called for reform.
 
Just because he consults the bishops or forms a committee doesn’t reduce the problematic matter at hand. It only means the Pope is courteous. Nobody is disputing that Pope Francis is a nice guy.
 
It’s deeper than that. All Popes work with their brother bishops. He is head of the college of bishops but not apart from it. Vatican I did emphasize papal primacy, but Vatican II reminded us that the Church is ruled by the Pope AND the bishops in union with him. Does he have the authority to act unilaterally? Yes… but I always saw that as a reserve power in practice. I know a fellow Catholic is going to jump on me here… I know there are no canonical limits on paper… but tradition is a factor here too.
Take the viceroys here in Canada (Governor General federally or Lt Governor provincially). On paper, according to the constitutional documents, the viceroy has absolute and complete executive authority over all aspects of Canadian government. In practice, they act only on the advice of the duly elected ministers. Yet, this year here in British Columbia, the provincial election was so close that the Lt. Governor had to make a call to ensure continuity of governance… dissolve the Legislature and call a new election as the sitting Premier requested, or allow the two opposition parties to form a coalition? She went with the latter against the stated wishes of the Premier who was clearly at odds with the general wishes of the people.
 
“No secret” is speculative at best, false witness a worst. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there is no evidence of the Holy Father claiming, explicitly, that he “strongly dislikes the Latin mass”.
 
The claim of Papal Supremacy itself is to us the problem. How he uses it is irrelevant. We don’t care how it’s exercised, because the very fact it’s even “on paper” is an error, to put it as charitably as possible.
 
Where is the claim of Papal Supremacy on paper? Really, what powers are given to the Pope?
 
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Vatican I is all about Papal Supremacy. Your own Canons spell out who the Pope is and what he does. Are you saying the Pope’s power is vague and ill defined?
 
This to me is like asking if the Pope could fly to the moon. Sure, he could, it’s possible. But what motivation would he ever have to do so? And has he given any indication this is even on his mind?
 
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