Leaked Report: Most Bishops Did NOT Want Latin Mass Restricted
UPDATE 7/4/2025: After questions circulated over the authenticity of the leaked CDF documents, a new book released July 2nd by don Nicola Bux — former consulter to the Vatican Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith as well as Divine Worship — confirms the authenticity of the documents.
According to Diane Montagna: "The book contains what I’ve already published, namely the overall assessment of the CDF survey results, and a collection of quotes received from the diocese that were intended to give Pope Francis a representative sampling of the bishops’ responses. But it also contains a previously undisclosed section of the report, namely, the CDF’s summary of the implementation of Summorum Pontificum by continent and country."
Bux's book contains important new data, namely, summaries of bishops' responses from each continent, and countries on those continents. An excerpt:
USA: “[O]f the 178 Latin dioceses in the United States, a full 65% responded, submitting 115 reports.”
“62% of the bishops report that the EF [Extraordinary Form] responds to a pastoral need expressed by people who, thanks to it, lead a rich, deep, and fruitful life of faith.”
SOUTH AMERICA: "extremely low participation" likely due to high presence of SSPX
AFRICA: “[I]n the three regions where [the TLM] was celebrated, the responses expressed full support:
-Benin (“There are only positive aspects; it contributes to enrichment and to peace”)
-Gabon (“Positive aspects: silence, meditation, the solemnity of the rite; the form is conducive to deepening the faith, it transports one to heavenly realms; and negative aspects: limited variety of texts, the Latin language may create a barrier or lead to mental distraction”)
-Mauritius (“General satisfaction after a period of misunderstanding”)
FRANCE: -42% of the bishops request that, in one way or another, mutual enrichment of the two forms be encouraged -17% emphasize the need to ensure that the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form do not live too isolated from the rest of the diocese, always fostering a spirit of openness and mutual respect; -13% suggest that nothing should be changed in the peaceful balance that Summorum Pontificum has brought about.
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A leaked Vatican document reveals the majority of the world's bishops did not want restrictions on the traditional liturgy, belying justifications for Pope Francis' crackdown on the Traditional Latin Mass.
Vatican journalist Diane Montagna has obtained and published the official 2021 document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which summarized the results of a worldwide bishops' survey on the traditional liturgy. That survey was ostensibly used as the basis for Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which placed restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass:
"With the passage of thirteen years, I instructed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to circulate a questionnaire to the Bishops regarding the implementation of the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. The responses reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me, and persuades me of the need to intervene."
He went on to write, "Responding to your requests, I take the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions and customs that precede the present Motu proprio."
This, however, does not square with the official summary provided by the CDF, which stated:
"The majority of bishops who responded to the questionnaire, and who have generously and intelligently implemented the MP Summorum Pontificum, ultimately express satisfaction with it—especially those who have also had the possibility to establish a personal parish where all the sacraments are celebrated in the Forma extraordinaria and where a stable, celebrating, and pastorally active community is formed. In places where the clergy have closely cooperated with the bishop, the situation has become completely pacified." (emphasis added)
The CDF assessment also noted the attraction of youth to traditional liturgy:
"A constant observation made by the bishops is that it is young people who are discovering and choosing this older form of the liturgy. The majority of the stable groups present in the Catholic world are composed of young people, often converts to the Catholic faith or those returning after a time away from the Church and the sacraments. They are drawn by the sacredness, seriousness, and solemnity of the liturgy. What strikes them most, also amid a society that is excessively noisy and verbose, is the rediscovery of silence within sacred actions, the restrained and essential words, preaching that is faithful to the Church’s doctrine, the beauty of liturgical chant, and the dignity of the celebration: a seamless whole that is deeply attractive."
Montagna writes, "Traditionis Custodes magnified and projected as a major problem what was merely ancillary in the official CDF report," going on to note that Traditionis Custodes "disregarded and withheld" this information from the public.
