SOME JURIDICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Perpetual Indult (1570)

The bull, Quo Primum (1570), was the decree by which Pope St Pius V, in faithful adherence to the Council of Trent, codified the immemorial Roman rite with the intention that it should remain unchanged in perpetuity. By the same decree he conferred on all priests a perpetual indult to use the Roman Missal freely and lawfully.

An important point about Quo Primum was not its nature as a papal bull (subsequent popes were not legally bound by the disciplinary measures of their predecessors), but its principal subject-matter, the Roman Mass based on Apostolic Tradition which all popes from then until recent times considered inviolable and, with regard at least to the Ordinary of the Mass, preserved absolutely unchanged. The question, therefore, is not a legal but a moral one: whether it was right to disregard the solemn decree which was an act of the Council of Trent, break with the living tradition of the Church and introduce a New Order of Mass. The effect of Missale Romanum (1969) on the legal status of Quo Primum was one of derogation, i.e. it was modified to include the New Mass, but Pius V's decree and the perpetual indult it contained have never been abrogated in the canonical sense of the term.

The English Indult (1971)

In 1971, on the initiative of the Latin Mass Society, over 50 of the most distinguished scholars, writers, historians and musicians resident in Britain, directed a collective appeal to the Vatican to prevent the extinction of the classical Latin liturgy which had inspired some of the world's finest artistic achievements in music and architecture. The majority of the signatories were, like Yehudi Menuhin, not Catholics, but they felt compelled to remind the Holy See of the "appalling responsibility" it would incur in the history of the human spirit if it were to deprive the world of the Church's ancient heritage which they regarded as the most sublime product of Western civilisation

In response to this appeal, made through Cardinal Heenan and supported by thousands of British Catholics and all who shared their horror at the destruction of the Church's ancient liturgy, Pope Paul VI gave permission for the traditional Latin Mass to be celebrated in England and Wales. The English Indult, therefore, prevented the old Mass from being wiped from the face of the world and secured its continuous official presence in our churches, if nowhere else.

The World-wide Indult (1984)

The danger of grave injustice done to devout Catholics through the attempted suppression of the old Mass was foreseen by the Latin Mass Society which has continued to work to ensure that the traditional Latin Mass as codified in perpetuity by Pope St Pius V in his bull Quo Primum be preserved as one of the forms of liturgical celebration universally recognised in the Church. As a result of international pressure the Congregation for Divine Worship promulgated the 1984 Indult granted by Pope John Paul II by which Catholics throughout the world could be permitted by their bishop to worship once again in the traditional manner.

Bureaucratic Barriers

A close examination of the Indult shows that no mention is made of the number of times a bishop can permit the celebration of the old Mass, whether it be on a weekly, or even a daily basis. It was not, however, until the faithful attempted to make use of the Indult that its limitations as a legal document became apparent, for it contained contradictory clauses which made it notoriously unworkable. Although the will of the Pope to be conciliatory towards requests for the traditional Latin Mass was clearly expressed in the first part of the document, it was rendered largely ineffective by the Congregation for Divine Worship which appended so many restrictions to the latter part as to make the implementation of the Indult difficult in practice.

Obviously such an anomaly in the law called for clarification. It was in response to representations from the International Una Voce Federation, of which the Latin Mass Society is an affiliated member, that His Holiness mandated a revision of the 1984 Indult with a view to removing its limitations.

'Ecclesia Dei'

As a measure of his pastoral concern for those who felt allegiance to the old liturgy, he set up a department of the Roman Curia, the Ecclesia Dei Commission, to carry out his express will to remove all undue restrictions contained in the 1984 Indult attached to the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. The promulgation of Ecclesia Dei given motu proprio on 2nd July 1988 coincided with the sentence of excommunication against Archbishop Lefebvre and was intended to heal the wounds of division within the Church which no one should ever feel tempted to leave in order to have access to the old Mass.

As the care of the whole of Christ's flock is committed to the Supreme Pastor of the Church, the Holy Father offered, in accordance with the demands of his very function, the means of salvation to the entire Church through the provision of the traditional Mass. It follows, therefore, that as the Sacrifice of the Mass is an essential obligation for the faithful and the efficacious means of their salvation, no restrictions can logically be placed on its provision.

Scope of 'Ecclesia Dei'

It is important to note that the 'Ecclesia Dei' Commission, as its first statute makes clear, received the "faculty of granting to all those who ask for it (omnibus id petentibus) the use of the Missale Romanum of 1962". In spite of the crystal-clear intention of the Pope, as expressed in his motu proprio, those unwilling to agree with him propagated misleading information to the effect that the special mission of the Commission was confined exclusively to the reintegration of former followers of Archbishop Lefebvre, and that no concessions could be made to members of the faithful requesting access to the old Mass. Cardinal Mayer, on the orders of Pope John Paul, made an authoritative interpretation of the motu proprio. In a letter of 20 March 1991 addressed to the bishops of the U.S.A. he explained that His Holiness was referring to all of the faithful who were attached to the old rites, "and not just to former adherents of Archbishop Lefebvre".

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