TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has mandated that Latin Masses held in two Catholic churches in Toronto be alternated with a once-a-month Novus Ordo Mass.
This past Sunday’s parish bulletin for Holy Family Church in Toronto, Canada, announced the newly ordered liturgical changes, stating that they have been “mandated by the Holy See and Archdiocese.”
The schedule indicates that at Holy Family Parish, the Traditional Latin Mass will be alternated with a Novus Ordo Mass said in Latin once a month.
At St. Vincent de Paul Parish, the Latin Mass will be alternated with an English Novus Ordo Mass once a month.
The Mass alternation at Holy Family Parish is not totally consistent. Some months, the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin will be held on the last Sunday of the month, and some months it will be held on the second Sunday of the month.
At St. Vincent de Paul Parish, English Masses will be held on the second-to-last Sunday of the month.
The two parishes belong to the Toronto Oratory.
“As we begin to implement these changes, required of us by the Holy See and the Archdiocese, we ask you to keep Pope Leo, Cardinal Leo, and the Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory in your prayers,” the bulletin adds.
Rorate Caeli reported that the new restrictions are being enforced according to the dictates of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ Latin Mass-suppressing motu proprio.
According to Rorate Caeli, sacraments offered according to the traditional rites, including baptisms, marriages, and funerals, are now prohibited at the churches. Only already-scheduled traditional sacraments will be allowed going forward.
The Responsa accompanying Traditionis Custodes severely restricted traditional sacraments, stating that only diocesan bishops can grant permission to use the Rituale Romanum and that this permission is only to be granted in “canonically erected personal parishes,” such as those of the Institute of Christ the King (ICKSP) and the Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP). Five of the seven sacraments are contained in the Rituale Romanum: baptism, penance, Holy Communion, matrimony, and extreme unction.
Traditionis Custodes and attempts to restrict the traditional Latin Mass violate the Church magisterium as articulated in Quo Primum, which permanently authorized the traditional Mass, declaring that it may be used “freely and lawfully” in “perpetuity.” The 1570 bull further declares, regarding the “Tridentine” rite:
This Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used. Nor are superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass otherwise than as enjoined by Us. We likewise declare and ordain … that this present document cannot be revoked or modified but remains always valid and retains its full force.