It must be hard being a popesplaining, neo-traditionalist these days. With every passing hour their hopes for a restoration of the Latin Mass are being dashed by the Synodal heresiarchs, forcing them more deeply into the quagmire of self-inflicted gaslighting.
The denial recently reached a fever pitch when Cardinal Arthur Roche said in an interview that Leo XIV “is not going to change Traditionis Custodes” and is “not going back to Summorum Pontificum.”
Faux-Trad commentators and influencers immediately went into excuse-making mode. Roche, they insisted, did not know what he was talking about, was merely expressing his own opinion, and was out of the loop regarding Leo’s true liturgical intentions.
The reality on the ground, however, tells a rather different story, to say the least.
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Catholic social media was set ablaze over the past week when a letter Leo sent to Cardinal Roche on June 29, 2026, concerning liturgical formation was published.
The document makes clear that the furthest thing from Prevost’s mind is making concessions for the Latin Mass.
In the letter, Leo praised Bergoglio’s Desiderio desideravi, while calling for “fidelity to the approved texts and instructions” and the need to respect “the rites promulgated by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.”
Even though some in the Latin Mass Only camp, such as Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, immediately leapt into action to tell us what Leo actually said, it was clear that Leo was referring to the post-conciliar liturgical books of the Roman Rite, rather than endorsing the older Missal as an equally legitimate form.
Specifically, Leo said that priests must demonstrate respect for the reformed liturgy, and that such respect should arise from “openness and trust in God,” humility, and fidelity to ecclesial communion.
Sadly for Shaw & Co., the letter said precisely nothing about restoring the liturgical settlement established by Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum.
The Dispatch
Leo’s letter strongly lends legitimacy to Roche’s earlier claim by indicating they were not an isolated bureaucratic pronouncement from an irrelevant prelate, but rather the words of a man who is on exactly the same page as his boss.
Events on the ground across the world seem to be pointing to that conclusion.
In Pittsburgh, Bishop Mark Eckman recently announced that the diocesan Traditional Latin Mass at St. Titus will end on September 4, making it clear that the arrangement was never intended to be permanent.
Read more: Trad derangement syndrome: Influencers deny reality amid looming Latin Mass crackdown
There are also unconfirmed reports online circulating about the future of the traditional liturgy. A Substack user who goes by the name @tridentinecatholic53 recently wrote: “I just heard that the Canons of St. John Cantius, a small Ecclesia Dei community in Chicago, was told by Blase Cupich that newly ordained priests will not be allowed to read the TLM.”
Elsewhere on X, Fr. Martin Navarro, Ob.S.A., related in a X post that: “Our Archbishop just informed our FSSP parish that we can’t do any Confirmations and the students will instead have to register at a Novus Ordo parish and do a 2-year catechism class there before receiving the sacrament.”
This seemed to be in reference to the Archbishop of Seattle, Paul Etienne, allegedly denying the FSSP permission to henceforth prepare its congregants for the Sacrament of Confirmation or having the sacrament conferred in the traditional form.
Endangered species list
All in all, it is not looking good for Indult Latin Masses, as it seems permissions for them are increasingly being withdrawn rather than granted.
For those who have spent the past few weeks insisting that “everything is fine,” the evidence to the contrary is becoming rather uncomfortable. The screws are tightening.
