I recently came across an article by a respected and erudite Catholic layman who suggested that Pope Leo XIV will not revoke Traditionis Custodes because Popes don’t typically overturn decisions made by their predecessors. While this may hold true in many cases, history shows it is far from a hard rule. In fact, there are clear instances in which Popes have changed the course of previous pontificates, especially in the realm of the Sacred Liturgy.

From Paul VI to John Paul II: A Shift Begins

After the Second Vatican Council, Pope St. Paul VI promulgated the new Roman Missal in 1969, commonly called the Novus Ordo Missae. It was presented as the normative form of the Roman Rite going forward, and he discouraged continued use of the older liturgy. Paul VI himself acknowledged the pain this caused among many faithful Catholics. In a General Audience on November 26, 1969, he referred to the change as a “disturbance,” especially for “pious persons” formed by the traditional Latin Mass.

Yet less than 15 years later, Pope St. John Paul II opened the door to that very Mass. In 1984, he issued Quattuor Abhinc Annos, granting bishops the ability to permit its celebration under certain conditions. Four years later, with the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei (1988), he encouraged even broader generosity toward Catholics attached to the older form.

Benedict XVI: Restoring Liturgical Continuity

The clearest reversal came under Pope Benedict XVI, who in Summorum Pontificum (2007) declared that the Traditional Latin Mass had never been abrogated and that all priests in good standing could celebrate it without seeking permission. He referred to it as the “extraordinary form” of the Roman Rite, existing alongside the ordinary form, and stressed the unity and continuity of the Church’s liturgical tradition.

This was not a mere gesture of nostalgia, but a theological correction. Benedict saw the pre- and post-conciliar liturgies not as enemies, but as mutually enriching expressions of the same Roman Rite.

Pope Francis and Traditionis Custodes: A Reversal of the Reversal

That path of liturgical peace took a sharp turn in 2021 when Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes. This document revoked the freedoms established by Summorum Pontificum, reasserted episcopal control over the celebration of the older liturgy, and mandated that it not be celebrated in parish churches. In his accompanying letter to bishops, Francis stated that the goal was to unify the Church under the reformed liturgy and to lead traditionalists away from the older form altogether.

Far from a neutral clarification, Traditionis Custodes signaled a decisive break with the trajectory of his predecessors. So, yes—Popes do reverse decisions of previous Popes. We are living proof of that.

What About Liturgical Abuses?

Amid this crackdown on traditional liturgy, one painful truth has often been ignored: persistent and widespread liturgical abuses in the Ordinary Form are rarely addressed with the same rigor.

I speak from personal experience.

Growing up in the late 1960s and beyond, I witnessed countless liturgical violations. In Charismatic Masses, the consecration would be interrupted by singing in tongues. At weekly youth center liturgies, music was pre-recorded and played on a switchboard. In college, our chaplain often celebrated Mass in jeans and a t-shirt with only a stole—arriving on a motorcycle and stopping mid-Mass to answer a phone call. And the Sister, chaplain on our campus read the Gospel and gave the homily. Sacred vessels were made of clay and stashed in a metal cabinet without purification.

At a parish I attended, we had no altar servers because girls weren’t allowed and no effort was made to recruit boys until there was justice for the girls. The music ministry played secular hits during Mass—including “Leaving on a Jet Plane” on Ascension Thursday. Meanwhile, liturgical roles were filled by those dressed inappropriately or poorly formed, and priests sometimes preached heresy. And yet—no one stepped in to correct these abuses.

But propose a reverent Traditional Latin Mass in a quiet corner of a parish basement chapel, and suddenly a cascade of restrictions descends.

A Question of Justice

The Church has always taught that the faithful have a right to the Church’s liturgical heritage when permitted by law. And yet, in recent years, those attached to the Traditional Latin Mass have been the most harshly scrutinized and restricted, while grave liturgical abuses in the ordinary form are tolerated or overlooked.

This inconsistency wounds the unity of the Church and undermines the credibility of those who claim to defend liturgical order.

Hope for the Future

This is why I believe—and fervently pray—that Pope Leo XIV, will bring clarity and justice to this crisis. The only reasonable and lasting solution is to restore to priests and laity the freedom to celebrate and attend the Traditional Latin Mass, without fear, marginalization, or restriction.

Let the two forms of the Roman Rite—ordinary and extraordinary—peacefully co-exist, not as competing ideologies, but as expressions of the Church’s living tradition. The faithful who are nourished by the Mass of the Ages deserve the same pastoral care and respect that others receive.

It is not structural reform or theoretical interpretation of Sacrosanctum Concilium that will bring healing—it is the Holy Spirit working through a just restoration of liturgical liberty. Only this will begin to mend the deep wounds inflicted by decades of imbalance, selective enforcement, and disregard for the sacred.

Sources & Citations:

• Paul VI, General Audience, November 26, 1969.
• Quattuor Abhinc Annos, Congregation for Divine Worship, 1984.
• Ecclesia Dei, Apostolic Letter, John Paul II, July 2, 1988.
• Summorum Pontificum, Apostolic Letter, Benedict XVI, July 7, 2007.
• Traditionis Custodes, Apostolic Letter, Francis, July 16, 2021.
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2011 edition).
• Sacrosanctum Concilium, Second Vatican Council, 1963.
• Redemptionis Sacramentum, Congregation for Divine Worship, 2004.