Ahead of consistory, priest urges new canonical structure to resolve Latin Mass standoff

Michie said:

In practical terms, de Blignières proposes the creation of a new Church structure — such as a personal apostolic administration or an ordinariate — similar to a diocese but not tied to a specific territory. Instead of being organized by geography, it would bring together priests and faithful attached to the traditional Latin liturgy under a single authority wherever they are located

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There is precedent for such a thing. We have a prelature, Opus Dei.

Michie said:

As cardinals gather this week in an extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV on Jan. 7–8, a French traditionalist priest has sent a memorandum to members of the Sacred College of Cardinals proposing the creation of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction specifically structured to oversee the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in an effort to resolve the liturgical crisis that has marked the Church in recent years.

The letter, dated Dec. 24, 2025, and made public by U.S. journalist Diane Montagna, was written by Father Louis-Marie de Blignières, founder of the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrier in 1979 and a senior figure of the post-1988 Ecclesia Dei movement who took part in dialogue with St. John Paul II following Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s illicit episcopal consecrations.

“Before the consistory, where liturgy will be on the agenda, I take the filial liberty of addressing this short memorandum to you,” de Blignières, 76, wrote at the outset, explaining that his purpose is to suggest “an ecclesial solution that could provide a stable framework for these faithful who are in full communion with the Catholic hierarchy and attached to the ancient Latin rite.”

In practical terms, de Blignières proposes the creation of a new Church structure — such as a personal apostolic administration or an ordinariate — similar to a diocese but not tied to a specific territory. Instead of being organized by geography, it would bring together priests and faithful attached to the traditional Latin liturgy under a single authority wherever they are located.

Continued below.

Priest urges new canonical structure to resolve Latin Mass standoff

A French priest has sent a memorandum to members of the Sacred College of Cardinals proposing the creation of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction to oversee the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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I have never understood the hostility displayed by certain clergy over the Tridentine Mass. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Is it a valid Mass? The Vatican has said so. Is it irreverent, or rebellious, or encouraging dissent from the True Faith? No. So what's the problem? If there are people who prefer to worship in the form of the Tridentine Latin Mass, let them have it. What is it possibly going to hurt??? I just don't get the stubborn, cold-hearted resistance to it.

Wolseley said:

I have never understood the hostility displayed by certain clergy over the Tridentine Mass. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Is it a valid Mass? The Vatican has said so. Is it irreverent, or rebellious, or encouraging dissent from the True Faith? No. So what's the problem? If there are people who prefer to worship in the form of the Tridentine Latin Mass, let them have it. What is it possibly going to hurt??? I just don't get the stubborn, cold-hearted resistance to it.

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The TLM is the extraordinary format which is not used by the universal Church. The Novus Ordo is the ordinary and should
be accepted across the Latin Catholic Communities. Trying to replace the ordinary with the extraordinary is the problem
we see today. The TLM advocates spread division more than unity, which is why there is a push back by the clergy.

JimR-OCDS said:

The TLM is the extraordinary format which is not used by the universal Church. The Novus Ordo is the ordinary and should
be accepted across the Latin Catholic Communities. Trying to replace the ordinary with the extraordinary is the problem
we see today. The TLM advocates spread division more than unity, which is why there is a push back by the clergy.

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I still don't see what it hurts. If they prefer the Tridentine Mass, so what? There are 24 different rites in the Catholic Church---Syriac, Maronite, Greek, Malabar, Coptic, Chaldean, Armenian, etc., etc., etc. If somebody prefers one of those over a vernacular Novus Ordo, nobody accuses them of causing division. Heck, the Vatican even made allowances for an Anglican Mass for Episcopal converts, because that's what they feel comfortable with. If it's a valid rite, and it doesn't challenge the Truth of the Faith, and it brings those who prefer it into closer communion with Christ, then where is the harm??? I just do not understand the hostility towards it.....it makes no sense to me.

Wolseley said:

I still don't see what it hurts. If they prefer the Tridentine Mass, so what? There are 24 different rites in the Catholic Church---Syriac, Maronite, Greek, Malabar, Coptic, Chaldean, Armenian, etc., etc., etc. If somebody prefers one of those over a vernacular Novus Ordo, nobody accuses them of causing division. Heck, the Vatican even made allowances for an Anglican Mass for Episcopal converts, because that's what they feel comfortable with. If it's a valid rite, and it doesn't challenge the Truth of the Faith, and it brings those who prefer it into closer communion with Christ, then where is the harm??? I just do not understand the hostility towards it.....it makes no sense to me.

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It doesn't hurt until demanding that the TLM be celebrated divides the Church.

JimR-OCDS said:

It doesn't hurt until demanding that the TLM be celebrated divides the Church. has got to be an improvement!

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I'll agree with you there; but most traditionalist Catholics that I know aren't exactly members of SSPX. Most of them are considerably more respectful than a lot of Novus Ordo Catholics. 20 years ago, my diocese was going through a re-structuring program, trying to "cluster" parishes because there simply weren't enough priests to staff every parish. Parishioners were invited to sit in on meetings and voice their concerns about how things were going to go---and you never saw so many angry Karens in your life. I remember one gal shouting, "We don't WANT to join with another parish, we want our OWN church, with our OWN priest!" Another woman, way back by where I was sitting, murmured, "That's fine, but where you gonna get the priests?" There were a lot of angry, petulant people in those meetings.

That was a problem, by the way, that seems to have corrected itself, since in the last seven years or so, vocations in my diocese have literally exploded---the seminaries are producing young priests on a level not seen since the mid-1960s. Thing is, this is very disconcerting to the immediate post-Vatican II clergy now approaching retirement age, since the younger priests tend to be very traditional; many of them wear cassocks, they favor altar rails, they celebrate the Novus Ordo in Latin, their vestments are very ornate, and most of them refuse to tolerate rock bands inside the church: pipe organs prevail. In those parishes, I have also noticed that anything published by OCP or GIA are nowhere to be seen (no missalettes!), and the hymnals are from places like the Angelus Press or Sophia Press. (shrug) I see it as an improvement. Anything that leaves behind such soul-deadening dreck as Gather Us In or Like a Shepherd has got to be an improvement!

If I may say so:
In my opinion, there are two ways to honor and transmit Christ:
1. That of Martha, who was so focused on her art of hospitality that she perhaps made it a form of idolatry. It seems that her hospitality was aimed more at distinguishing herself, and I don't think she put herself in a position to transmit Christ.
2. Mary's way, attentive to Jesus' teaching. This made her more capable of spreading the Good News. Her listening achieved two objectives:
- she welcomed the gift of speech and probably seized the opportunities for meditation it offered;
- she became an example to follow: she bears witness to the best method.

In conclusion, I would say that I do not feel that debates about how to set the Eucharistic table are likely to satisfy the guests.
What really matters is the menu, isn't it?

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peter2 said:

If I may say so:
In my opinion, there are two ways to honor and transmit Christ:
1. That of Martha, who was so focused on her art of hospitality that she perhaps made it a form of idolatry. It seems that her hospitality was aimed more at distinguishing herself, and I don't think she put herself in a position to transmit Christ.
2. Mary's way, attentive to Jesus' teaching. This made her more capable of spreading the Good News. Her listening achieved two objectives:
- she welcomed the gift of speech and probably seized the opportunities for meditation it offered;
- she became an example to follow: she bears witness to the best method.

In conclusion, I would say that I do not feel that debates about how to set the Eucharistic table are likely to satisfy the guests.
What really matters is the menu, isn't it?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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Well, you can sit down to a lovely meal while you listen to beautiful ocean waves, gentle breezes, and birdsong; or you can sit down to the same lovely meal while you listen to pressure hammers pounding inside a steel mill.

The meal you receive will be the same---but the ambience, mon frère, will be totally different.

Wolseley said:

Well, you can sit down to a lovely meal while you listen to beautiful ocean waves, gentle breezes, and birdsong; or you can sit down to the same lovely meal while you listen to pressure hammers pounding inside a steel mill.

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It seems that both situations create a distracting atmosphere that was not part of Martha and Mary's context.
They were in their home, far from any outside distractions, or at least focused on their hospitality.
Indeed,
the writings only tell us about Martha's distraction with the concerns of service.

I therefore suggest, if you agree, that we consider the interior of Martha and Mary's house to be comparable to the interior of a place of worship (in France, outdoor masses are rare).

As for practice, I feel that there should perhaps be some room for expression:
That is to say,
even though I find contemplation essential most of the time (in silence) during Mass, I think that expressions of joy are not out of place at other times (expressions that can be noisy).

And then, you know that our congregations are aging, in France at least. A little youthful enthusiasm may have something to contribute...

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Wolseley said:

I have never understood the hostility displayed by certain clergy over the Tridentine Mass. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Is it a valid Mass? The Vatican has said so. Is it irreverent, or rebellious, or encouraging dissent from the True Faith? No. So what's the problem? If there are people who prefer to worship in the form of the Tridentine Latin Mass, let them have it. What is it possibly going to hurt??? I just don't get the stubborn, cold-hearted resistance to it.

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I agree. I once spoke with a priest at dinner and the TLM came up. He insisted that I had no idea how awful it was back then. He was not old enough to have grown up with it.

Here is what I find sad. Go by a general Christian church and you will see: 900 Traditional 1100 contemporary.