"...Traditional Latin Mass Can't Be 'Valid And Valuable Yesterday And Then No Longer Valid Tomorrow.'"

 Archbishop Gänswein urges Pope Leo to end Latin Mass restrictions, restore Summorum Pontificum

From lifesitenews.com and written by Antonino Cambria Fri Dec 12, 2025 - 3:23 pm EST: Archbishop Gänswein urges Pope Leo to end Latin Mass restrictions, restore Summorum Pontificum - LifeSite

"(LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the papal nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, during an interview released last weekend said Pope Leo XIV should end the restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and return to the norms of Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum because it brought unity to the Church.

Gänswein, during an interview that aired on December 7 with the German Catholic television network,  Katholisches Fernsehen (K-TV), noted that the Tridentine Mass, which nourished the faith of the Church for centuries, cannot suddenly become invalid or invaluable now, and questioned why Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes, when the majority of bishops were satisfied with his predecessor’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. The former personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI then emphasized that Summorum Pontificum was the right path to fostering liturgical peace in the Roman rite, and he hopes it will be restored by Pope Leo.

Gänswein is the latest prelate to express his hope that Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio will be rescinded for a return to Summorum Pontificum.

“It is precisely the (TLM) that has allowed the Church not only to live but to live well for centuries, and the sacred nourished by it and from it,” he said. “It can’t be that it was valid and valuable yesterday and then no longer valid tomorrow. So this is an unnatural situation.”

Gänswein, appearing to cite Vatican journalist Diane Montagna’s report from over the summer on the overall results of the 2020 survey of bishops conducted by the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) that was believed to have prompted Pope Francis’ promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, stressed that the vast majority of bishops were ultimately satisfied with the implementation of Summorum Pontificum.

READ: Vatican report reveals most bishops did not want Pope Francis’ Latin Mass crackdown

“The results were never officially published, but, of course, people are aware of them, and the result ultimately was that satisfaction was achieved,” the nuncio said. “(Summorum Pontificum was seen as) a path to peace, especially in the liturgy, the important place of religious life, and there should be no changes.”

“Why Pope Francis (imposed the restrictions) anyway is and remains a mystery to me,” he added.

Asked what he would like to see for the future of the Tridentine Mass, Gänswein said Pope Leo should restore Summorum Pontificum, which will allow for unity in the Roman rite.

“I consider Pope Benedict’s wise regulation (in Summorum Pontificum) to be the right path, and that has now been the right path for over 10 years, and we should continue on this path without complaint, without restriction,” he said. “I can only hope that Pope Leo will also go in this direction and simply continue the pacification, so that we can then simply look forward to working together.”

READ: Archbishop Gänswein on Pope Leo XIV: ‘The season of arbitrariness is over’

Indeed, since Pope Leo’s election in May, several prelates have urged the new pontiff to end the sweeping restrictions on the celebration of the TLM and return to the norms established under Summorum Pontificum.

In June, Cardinal Raymond Burke, who celebrated a Latin Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica just a few months later for the annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, said he had already spoken to Pope Leo about the persecution of the faithful who attend the Latin Mass:

It is my hope that Leo XIV will put an end to the present persecution to the faithful in the Church who desire to worship God according to the more ancient usage of the Roman Rite, this persecution from within the Church.

I have already had occasion to express that to the Holy Father. It is my hope that he will – as soon as it is possible – take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was after Summorum Pontificum and even to develop what Pope Benedict XVI had so wisely and lovingly legislated for the Church.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, during an October interview, revealed that he too had the opportunity to speak with Pope Leo about ending the restrictions placed on the TLM during a September private audience. Cardinal Kurt Koch, who was recently appointed as president of Aid to the Church in Need by Pope Leo, stated in August that it is “desirable” for the 267th pontiff to end the restrictions on the Latin Mass and return to Summorum Pontificum.

“Personally, I would appreciate it if we could find a good way forward here,” the Swiss prelate said. “Pope Benedict XVI has shown a helpful way by believing that something that has been practiced for centuries cannot simply be banned. That convinced me.”

READ: Cardinal Koch: It is ‘desirable’ for Pope Leo to lift restrictions on Latin Mass

“Pope Francis has chosen a very restrictive path in this regard. It would certainly be desirable to open the now closed door more again,” Cardinal Koch added.'

End of article...

Pray for strength and honor -- and for the restoration of the TLM!

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Gene DeLalla