Denver Newsroom, Jul 20, 2021 / 17:30 pm
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter issued a statement on Tuesday reaffirming their fidelity to Pope Francis, and expressing their disappointment with his recent motu proprio restricting the use of traditional liturgies.
“The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter [FSSP], whose goal is the sanctification of priests through the faithful observance of the liturgical traditions prior to the reform implemented after the Second Vatican Council, has received Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes with surprise,” said the order on Tuesday.
The July 16 motu proprio, Traditionis custodes (“Guardians of the tradition”), restricts the use of the Traditional Latin Mass and prohibits it from being celebrated in “parochial churches.” It states that it is each bishop’s “exclusive competence” to authorize the use of the Latin Mass in his diocese according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
In its statement issued from its headquarters in Fribourg, the FSSP explained that it is a canonically-approved religious order, and “has always professed its adherence to the entire Magisterium of the Church and its fidelity to the Roman Pontiff and the successors of the Apostles, exercising its ministry under the responsibility of the diocesan bishops.”