Vatican City - The Vatican said yesterday that Pope Benedict XVI will soon issue a document providing for wider use of the Tridentine Mass, the centuries-old Latin rite that was largely supplanted in the 1960s by a new liturgy, usually translated into modern languages.
Though the details of the long-awaited document have not been made public, church experts said it is unlikely in the short term to change the status quo in most U.S. parishes, which will continue to celebrate Masses in English, Spanish and Latin using the missal, or prayer book, approved by Pope Paul VI in 1969 following the far-reaching changes of the Second Vatican Council.
But they said the document could make the Tridentine Mass more widely available. Currently, priests are required to obtain their bishop's permission before using the old, pre-Vatican II liturgy.
The Vatican's official statement described the document as a motu proprio, a Latin phrase meaning it was written on the pope's "own initiative."
"The publication of the document -- which will be accompanied by an extensive personal letter from the Holy Father to individual bishops -- is expected within a few days, when the document itself will be sent to all the bishops" with guidance on its implementation, the statement said.
Benedict discussed the matter in private on Wednesday with about 15 bishops from around the world, including two Americans, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston and Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis. The special gathering of bishops, and the plans for an extensive accompanying letter, indicate the pope's sensitivity to how the document is received and, some experts said, the risk that it could be misunderstood.
The Rev. Keith Pecklers, a Jesuit liturgical scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, said there is considerable room for misinterpretation because the Tridentine Mass is beloved by at least two groups of Catholics, for different reasons.
One consists of worshipers who relish the ancient lineage and solemnity of the old liturgy, which was standardized at the Council of Trent in 1570 -- hence the name Tridentine -- but includes prayers that date back centuries earlier.
"If you ever listen to a piece of music and are stunned by its beauty, that's what it's like," said Mary Anne Zivnuska, 27, of Arlington, who attends a weekly Tridentine Mass at St. Mary Mother of God Church in Washington. "I don't think you get that richness and depth with the novus ordo Mass," she added, using the Latin name for the "new order" liturgy.
Other supporters of the Tridentine Mass, however, care about more than its beauty or ancient roots. They include followers of the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated in 1988 after consecrating bishops without the pope's permission. The Lefebvrists, and some other traditionalist Catholics, reject many of the theological changes ushered in by the Second Vatican Council and view the Tridentine Mass as a symbol of the pre-Vatican II church.
"Some of the most vocal proponents of the Tridentine rite are . . . those who never accepted the whole view of the church as Vatican II presented it, including the greater role of the laity in church life," Pecklers said. "These same individuals have been critical of the church's ecumenical outreach to other Christians and of its dialogue with Jews and Muslims. So what's going on, on a symbolic level, is much more than just a matter of liturgy."
No matter what the pope's intention, Pecklers said, "proponents of the Tridentine rite certainly will read this as a victory for those who thought Vatican II was largely a mistake."
John Blewett, managing editor of Latin Mass, a magazine that promotes traditionalist Catholic positions, said the practical impact of the papal document will depend on details that are not clear, such as whether Benedict will appoint a high-level official to oversee the old liturgy and to protect the priests who want to use it. Otherwise, he said, the pope's initiative might still be blocked by local bishops.