Rorate Caeli

The "Mayan Rite" and Papal Progressivism - by Abp. Héctor Agüer


 Abp. Héctor Agüer
Emeritus of La Plata
Buenos Aires, November 27, 2024


        The Liturgy represents the intimate life of the Church, its essence: the worship of the Triune God, in which the First Commandment is fulfilled; the reproduction of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ; the communication of the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the celebration of the Sacraments. 


        The Liturgy is carried out according to various Eastern and Western rites. The Roman Rite includes the Ordo of the Latin Mass, which originated around the 6th century and has never been abrogated. In 1970, Pope Paul VI sanctioned a new Ordo Missae, which is exercised with alterations here and there, and which lacks solemnity and beauty. For this reason, many young people adhere to the Tradition of the “Traditional Mass,” where it is not arbitrarily forbidden. The letter of that Traditional Mass has the accuracy of ecclesiastical Latin.


        The Eastern rites remain unchanged over time; at most they adopt, at least partially, the language of the place where they are celebrated. The current Ordo Missae, on the other hand, is characterized by its variability and includes numerous abuses. A field of special experimentation is music, a field in which Gregorian chant has been abandoned and the use of popular instruments has been introduced. It is remarkable that even where there is a pipe organ, it remains silent. The displeasure provoked by these changes explains why many young people adhere to the “Mass of All Time.” 


        I notice something curious: it could be thought that the current pontificate adopts in its liturgical orientation the popular Argentinean vices.


        Now another false step has been taken: the approval of the “Mayan rite,” granted to Mexico. It is an “incorporation” to the rite of the Mass of pagan elements, abundant incensations, participation of women who intervene as if they were priestesses, popular music foreign to the religious environment, applause, and dances. What has been left of the Christian Eucharist? The formulation of this act constitutes the point of arrival of the transformation of the Catholic Liturgy, now torn to pieces, in the abolition of the Divine Worship. To which god is the “Mayan rite” addressed?


        The situation created by this fabrication is very serious; it alters the spontaneous relationship between the Liturgy and Heaven. A reference to the Council cannot be made. The first document of Vatican II was the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, voted almost unanimously. In this text it was established, “that no one, even a priest, should dare to remove, add or change anything in the Liturgy on his own initiative.”


        It applies to the case I have been analyzing: the Supreme Pontiff, on his own initiative, and against Tradition and liturgical sense, promulgates a rite made up for a particular nation, against the breadth of the Liturgy in the whole Church. The “Mayan rite,” then, contradicts the Council.


        The pontifical responsibility in this case suggests an aggravation of its progressivism. Motus in fine velocior: the movement is accelerating towards the end. And another evidence of this is the recent change in the ritual of the papal funeral; with the clear objective of desacralization. "Synodally,” it seems, that where there is ‘pomp’ -- as it is called, in a demeaning way -- there is no room for ‘pobrismo’ [Rorate translation note: the mimicry of false poverty]. 


        We must pray a lot for the Pope. May the holy seers of Fatima -- Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia -- intercede for the Church.