section_path: Theological emphases and teachings/Theological disagreements/Traditionis custodes and the Tridentine Mass
section_name: Traditionis custodes and the Tridentine Mass
paragraph_text: Traditionis custodes and the Tridentine Mass
  
  In July 2021, Francis issued motu proprio, the apostolic letter titled Traditionis custodes, which reversed the decision of his predecessor Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum and imposed new restrictions on the use of the Traditional Latin Mass. The letter returned to the bishops the power to grant or ban the Latin Mass in their dioceses, and required newly ordained priests to request permission before performing the old rite, among other changes. Traditionis custodes had been criticized by prelates including cardinals Raymond Leo Burke, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, and Joseph Zen, and many lay faithful. Edwin Pentin wrote in National Catholic Register that "The most general criticism is that the restrictions are unnecessary, needlessly harsh, and implemented in an unjustifiably swift fashion."