Pope Approves Broader Use of Latin Mass
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VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI has approved a document that relaxes restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass used by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries until the modernizing reforms of the 1960s, the Vatican said Thursday.
Pope Benedict discussed the decision with top officials in a meeting on Wednesday and the document will be published in the next few days, the statement said.
The decision comes after months of debate amid objections from some cardinals, bishops and Jews – whose complaints range from the text of the old Mass to the symbolic sweeping aside of the reforms approved by the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council.
The 16th century Tridentine Mass was sidelined by the so-called New Mass that followed the council. The reforms called for Mass to be said in local languages, for the priest to face the congregation and not the altar with his back to worshippers and for the use of lay readers.
To celebrate the old Latin Mass now, a priest must obtain permission from the local bishop. Church leaders are anxiously awaiting the details of Benedict’s decision, to see how far he will go in easing that rule.
