Answering Cardinal Roche’s Linguistic, Historical, and Theological Errors
Faulty Translation
Shaw notes that the English version of Cardinal Roche's document is a poor translation of the Italian:
“The Italian word sintonia, which means ‘harmony’, was rendered ‘syntony’ (para. 4). It is surprising that an English Cardinal should have missed this howler, and it suggests that he didn’t write the document personally.”
Cardinal Roche’s Threefold Argument
Shaw then summarizes Cardinal Roche’s threefold argument:
- that the Catholic liturgy has always changed through an ongoing process of organic reform;
- that Vatican II mandated liturgical reform;
- and that liturgical unity is essential to the unity of the Church.
The final claim is illustrated with quotations drawn from several popes.
Legitimate Diversity of Rites
Shaw observes that the appeal to “liturgical unity” is inconsistent and historically misleading.
He argues that the Church has long accepted liturgical diversity without harming unity: “What of the different Western rites reformed after Vatican II, such as the Ambrosian, Carthusian, and Mozarabic Rites? What of more recent liturgical forms, such as the Ordinariate Use, the Congolese Rite, and the new usage approved as recently as 2024 for use by a group of indigenous people in a single diocese in Mexico?”
If these do not undermine unity, Shaw adds, no explanation is offered for why the Traditional Mass uniquely does so.
Vatican II Misused
Furthermore, Shaw adds that Vatican II explicitly affirmed legitimate diversity of rites.
The Council encouraged the Eastern Churches to reclaim their own traditions and rejected rigid uniformity in the West.
Paul VI Misused
Shaw then challenges the use of Pope Paul VI’s phrase about “one and the same prayer” arguing that it has been mistranslated and taken out of context.
The translation of the Apostolic Constitution on the Vatican website gives the more accurate “one unique prayer” (una eademque cunctorum precatio).
Since Latin had been defended by some as a guarantee of unity, Pope Paul was pointing out that, despite the different languages henceforth to be used, the Mass is still the Mass: it is one unique prayer that unites the Church in spite of liturgical variety. He is saying, in fact, precisely the opposite of what he is presented as saying in Pope Francis’ quotation of him.
Historical Precedents Reconsidered
Shaw also disputes the historical parallels with the Franco-German reforms or the Council of Trent used by Cardinal Roche to justify post–Vatican II reforms.
There has never been “a wholesale rewriting of liturgical texts” until the Novus Ordo: “Instead, in these ‘reforms’, texts found in one old missal were given priority over versions found in other missals which were regarded as less reliable.”
Vatican II Warned Against Unnecessary Innovations
Finally, Shaw argues that appealing to the authority of Vatican II is insufficient, since the Council did not mandate many of the changes later introduced - and in some cases explicitly warned against unnecessary innovations, including the abandonment of Latin.
His conclusion is that Cardinal Roche’s argument avoids engaging substantive criticisms and instead relies on a simplified historical narrative to justify suppressing the Traditional Mass, hoping it will go unchallenged by those Cardinals - “probably the great majority” - who are unfamiliar with the history of the liturgy.
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