The new policy instructs priests who currently celebrate a form of the Mass, sometimes called the Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass, which was supplanted with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, to request permission from the archbishop if they wish to continue using the extraordinary form.

Do the new restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass increase our unity? Or do they sacrifice unity for uniformity?

Recent edicts and explanations of edicts out of Rome have ignited a familiarly unpleasant conflict in the U.S. church. And yet, though this will infuriate a vocal minority of my fellow Catholics, I just don’t get the brouhaha over the traditional Latin Mass.

A new document from the Vatican congregation that oversees Mass and the sacraments offers responses to questions some bishops have asked about restrictions on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II liturgical rite.

Pope Francis wants all Catholics to recognize that Vatican II and its reforms are not only authentic actions of the Holy Spirit but also are in continuity with the tradition of the church.

What Francis has done is to reestablish the priority of Vatican II in our liturgical life. He is saying, essentially, that no one can take an end run around it.