VATICAN: Pope Benedict, in an attempt to heal a schism in Catholicism, is writing a document to bring traditionalists back into the fold and allow greater use of the old Tridentine Latin Mass, Vatican sources said yesterday.
The Tridentine Mass went out of use after the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council ordered the gradual introduction of Masses in local languages. That and other changes introduced by the council, such as dialogue with non-Christian religions, were not accepted by many traditionalists.
Vatican sources said the document would probably take the form of a "motu proprio", a decree initiated personally by a pope. It would attempt to regularise the re-entry of traditionalists to the church and the reintroduction of the Latin Mass for those who want it. It would be an "indult", special permission given by the Holy See for a person or groups to deviate from universal church law under certain conditions.
The late pope John Paul allowed traditionalists to hear the Tridentine Mass with the permission of local bishops, many of whom were reluctant to give it on the grounds that it sowed confusion among the faithful who were hearing Mass in local languages.
The traditionalists' major flag-bearer is the Society of Saint Pius (SSPX), founded by the late French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The Swiss-based SSPX claims about one million followers.
Since his election last year, Pope Benedict has been trying to hold out an olive branch to the SSPX.