Regarding the rumor of a new document on the Latin Mass, a rumor that was widespread last week, our sources in Rome have denied its existence, or at least that it is planned.
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One important caveat, however, and this is our own, not from our sources: this Pontificate has seen a plethora of new legislation coming out every month. And, differently from what used to happen in the past, the legislation enacted by Francis does not derive from a measured procedure, in which each Congregation concerned is asked for feedback and considerations.
In Francislaw, there is no procedure.
The clique around the Pope selects ready-made projects from any loud ecclesiastical lobbyist that will find a favorable audience in the Jesuit circle: and, if it is favored by those who in turn are favored by Francis, it has a great chance of becoming law. This is what happened with Traditionis custodes: it is bad law, badly written, and filled with grotesque language because it was authored mostly by a liturgical dilettante, Andrea Grillo, whose only personal qualification is his hatred for the Traditional Mass. It was placed before Francis by his entourage, he accepted and decreed it.
It is all very bizarre: in a system, as the papacy, in which the sovereign is executive, legislator, and judge, the limits to his power are the procedural guidelines developed over the centuries. When these are ignored, all bets are off. And the very legitimacy of the institution comes undone. Each new month of the Francis pontificate is a month of growing illegitimacy due to the collapse of institutional bulwarks protecting the rights, duties, and prerogatives of all -- from bishops and cardinals to the laity.
This is all to say that the rumor may not be completely true, but not that something like it is impossible. One simply never knows what is going on or who is being currently favored by the clique.
