Bulletin Q&A Article; Published 10-13-24:
If the pope bans Latin Mass, would it be acceptable to convert to an Eastern Rite Catholic Church?
First, the good news. The Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are part of the universal Catholic Church. Attendance at an Eastern Rite Catholic Church for Mass fulfills your Sunday obligation. There is no need for a “conversion.”
Second, the bad news. You would be greatly disappointed because their liturgies are not offered in the Latin language. They are offered in the language associated with that particular church, and are now permitted to be offered in the vernacular, that is the local language where the liturgy is being offered. Not only is the language different, but also the rites themselves are very different. At the invitation of a priest from India that I knew, I attended a Mass offered by a visiting dignitary of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church which is one of the Eastern Rite churches. It was a very confusing liturgy for me—I was never even sure when the consecration actually took place.
As a point of information, there are 24 self-governing Churches that comprise the Catholic Church, one in the west and 23 in the east. All recognize the authority of the papacy. We belong to the one western Church. To add to the confusion, these 24 churches are divided into six different rites. One of the rites is the Latin Rite. It contains only one Church which is the Roman Catholic Church. So to be exact, when we refer to ourselves we are members of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Church. The other five rites comprise the other 23 churches. For example the Alexandrian Rite is composed of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Eritrean Catholic Church, and the Ethiopian Catholic Church.
But getting back to the original question, what about the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) which the questioner prefers? First we must distinguish between the language of the Mass and the form of the Mass. For centuries prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated mass solely in Latin in a form that changed only slightly over the years. This is often referred to as the TLM, or the Missal of 1962. After Vatican II, the ordinary form to be used by Roman Catholics was referred to as the Novus Ordo, the new order, or sometimes as the Missal of Pope Paul VI. The Novus Ordo was allowed to be celebrated in Latin, or in the vernacular which in our case is English here in the United States. The TLM was retained as an extraordinary form, and can only be celebrated in Latin, except for the readings.
Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes severely restricts the celebration of the TLM, but does not completely ban it. He offers two concerns. The first is his belief that the use of the TLM interferes with “ecclesial communion.” The second is his concern that some of those who embrace the TLM do so because they reject the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.
Some are attracted to the TLM because of its beauty and mystery. But some are attracted to it because the implementation of the Novus Ordo did not reflect the intent of Vatican II. Pope Benedict XVI wrote about this attraction: “This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.” He goes on to say: “The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.” Contrary to common perception, Vatican II did not discourage the use of Latin in our liturgies. The council document, Sacrosanctum Concilium, states in article 36: “Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended.” And article 54 states: “Steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.”
I believe that Novus Ordo as celebrated here at Immaculate Conception complies with the true intentions of Vatican II, “with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives” as envisioned by Benedict XVI. I believe that this serves as a unifying factor between those that prefer the TLM and those who prefer the Novus Ordo.