Reviving an Ancient Rite

For centuries the Roman Catholic Mass, the church's central act of worship, was celebrated by a priest reciting Latin prayers, facing the altar as the laity behind him provided a devout but silent background. In 1963 the Second Vatican Council, seeking to give the laity a greater role in the liturgy, authorized a sweeping reform of worship that included prayers in the vernacular and a rite in which the priest faced his congregation. For many conservatives, most notably the dissident French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the new Mass, even though it can be said in Latin, became a rallying point for defiance of the council's reforms.

In a letter to bishops published last week with papal approval, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship once again allowed limited use of the old Tridentine Mass (after the 16th century Council of Trent, which established it). The Vatican explained that permission was granted so as not "to alienate groups of the faithful who feel particularly tied to the [old] rite, which may be especially dear to them."

To avoid any suspicion of giving in to dissenters, the Vatican insisted that local bishops must give permission for the Tridentine rite to be used, but only to those who do not doubt the legitimacy of the present-day Mass. While parishes can use it only in "extraordinary" circumstances, Vatican sources predict that there will not be much call for it since most Catholics approve of the revised rituals. Nevertheless, Archbishop Lefebvre reacted over French radio: "I am very happy. Perhaps now our situation will change."