One of the most frustrating and downright hurtful fruits of the Francis pontificate was his harsh restrictions on the Latin Mass (TLM). In Traditionis Custodes, Francis gave anti-TLM priests and bishops the leverage to shut down the practice in their diocese. Bishop Cupich in Chiacago and Bishop Vigneron in Detroit gladly took that opportunity to issue near-total bans on TLM.
We later learned that the late pontiff's ongoing and venomously personal attacks on the TLM, and its priests were based on a lie. Pope Francis said priests who celebrated the old rite had "mental imbalance, emotional deviation, behavioral difficulties," fully embracing the age-old socialist tactic of accusing one's opponent of being crazy.
The attacks and restrictions on TLM are driven not by genuine theological concern but by control. The opponents of TLM pushed through, after Vatican II, radical changes to the liturgy, prayer, and non-theological Catholic doctrine, and they aren't going to let that control get away from them.
So the attacks continue, and they come often from the Jesuits, an order of which Pope Francis was a member, too.
The heartlessness toward TLM faithful is hard to ignore. @ThomasReeseSJ says TLM “should be banned on major feasts like Christmas, Holy Week, Easter and holy days… And, the Latin Mass should not be available every Sunday.” That sounds like disdain for the Mass of our Fathers. pic.twitter.com/GbPm4MCIPi
— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) February 11, 2026
As I noted two years ago, the state of the Catholic Church is not great. It is losing members at significant numbers -- down from 25 percent to 21 percent between 2010 and 2021. About 40% of Catholics attend church weekly. The median age of Catholics is now 49 -- up four years since 2007. And an astonishing 69% of Catholics do not believe the central teaching of the faith: that the Eucharist is the Body & Blood of Jesus, and not merely symbolic. The priesthood is now numbering around 31,000 -- down from 58,000 in the 1960s -- and only half are under the age of 70.
Meanwhile, TLM attendees' regular church attendance is much better, as is adherence to Church teaching on marriage, sexuality, birth control, the Eucharist, and Confession. Here, we have Catholics make the 90-plus-minute drive up from Chicago to attend TLM because Bishop Cupich has prohibited it in their own backyards.
Yes, there are some traditional Catholics who are sede vacante, who do not recognize the Pope and who do not follow Church teachings. But they are the exception and not the rule. Most Catholics, myself included, simply want a reverent, devout Mass to attend that doesn't involve clowns, guitars, or — as one local parish does — the elevation of office staff to clergy-esque roles in the Mass.
Address those issues, but remove the blanket bans on TLM. Let the people worship as they please, and shut down these heartless attacks on a legitimate, and ancient, form of Catholic worship.
