ANALYSIS: Since the new Pope assumed office on May 8, several prelates who had previously kept silent under Pope Francis have spoken out in favor of the TLM.

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In his first three months as pope, Leo XIV has not issued any significant changes to the status of the traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ 2021 policy calling for restrictions like the removal of the pre-conciliar liturgy from all parish churches, is still in effect.

But something else regarding the TLM has changed under Pope Leo: the conversation.

Since the new Pope assumed office on May 8, several prelates who had previously kept silent under Pope Francis have spoken out in favor of the TLM. Some of these Church leaders, who have included high-ranking cardinals, have made appeals to Leo XIV to reconsider the restrictions placed on the traditional liturgy, while others have critiqued some of the reasons for limiting its availability in the first place.

The latest is Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, who seemed to challenge the stated rationale for restricting the TLM in an Aug. 25 interview with Catholic World Report.

While Pope Francis had written in a letter accompanying Traditionis Custodes that the pre-conciliar liturgy had become instrumentalized by those who reject the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Fernandes shared that “there was nothing ideological” about his own experience of celebrating the TLM, beginning in 2007.

“We wanted to offer the Mass to meet the pastoral need of the people,” he said. “It is a beautiful part of the Church’s tradition.”

Earlier this month, Cardinal Kurt Koch, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, weighed in on the TLM in a different way, telling the German Catholic website Kath.net that he hoped Pope Leo XIV would follow Pope Benedict XVI’s lead in broadening access to it with Summorum Pontificum in 2007. Pope Francis’ Traditionis Custodes effectively reversed course.

“Pope Francis, in this regard, chose a very restrictive path,” said the Swiss cardinal. “It would certainly be desirable to reopen the now-closed door a bit more.”

Similarly, Cardinal William Goh of Singapore, who has minimally enforced Traditionis Custodes in his archdiocese but had not previously publicly criticized it, said on May 22 that he “saw no reason to stop people who prefer the Tridentine Mass,” as they are “not doing anything wrong or sinful.”

And Bishop Paul Reed, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, went public with his own appreciation of the TLM when he shared in a July 2 social-media post that he had “wept” after celebrating the ancient liturgy for the first time.

While some Church leaders, like Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Gerhard Müller, have long pushed back against Traditionis Custodes in public — and continue to do so — they were already known as outspoken critics of the Francis pontificate.

On the contrary, public support for the TLM from more moderate figures such as Cardinals Goh and Koch and Bishop Fernandes is a new, post-Francis development.

So what, if anything, can be made of this apparent conversational shift among the Church’s hierarchy?

One theory is that moderate prelates’ newfound public advocacy for the TLM is an indication that Pope Leo XIV himself is in favor of easing restrictions. After all, the new Pope has shown a striking command of Latin in the liturgy, has worn more traditional vestments and has emphasized the need to recover a sense of mystery and reverence in worship. Perhaps pro-TLM bishops are more willing to speak out now because they know that Pope Leo is on their side.

But other developments suggest that conclusion is an overreach; namely, the fact that restrictions of the TLM in line with Traditionis Custodes have continued apace during Leo XIV’s pontificate.

Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of Detroit has moved forward with his plan to curtail the TLM in his archdiocese, restricting the liturgy to four non-parish locations as of July 1. Similarly, although delayed after public backlash, Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, is proceeding with plans to limit access to the TLM in his diocese to a single dedicated chapel by Oct. 2.

If Pope Leo XIV was known among the hierarchy to be in favor of easing Traditionis Custodes’ restrictions, it seems unlikely that multiple bishops would be eager to preempt him — especially considering that the Diocese of Charlotte is investing $700,000 in its TLM chapel.

And indeed, Cardinal Koch said in his call for greater access to the TLM that he did not want to “raise false hopes,” as he had not discussed the matter with Pope Leo.

But while the more open conversations around the TLM might not be slam-dunk signs that Pope Leo has different liturgical views than Pope Francis, they do suggest that he’s different in one critical way: his leadership style.

In short, Leo is, as Catholic journalist George Weigel noted, “a good listener.” He is reported to be patient, widely consultative, and open to persuasion.

“This is going to be his modus operandi,” Augustinian Father Anthony Pizzo, who attended Villanova University with the future Pope Leo, told Reuters.

This marks something of a departure from Francis’ more tightly controlled style of leadership, which limited public comments from the hierarchy on certain topics.

In fact, shortly after Leo’s election, Cardinal Michael Czerny said that the new Pope’s style “might be even more inclusive or accessible than Francis.” These remarks were all the more striking coming from Cardinal Czerny, who was made prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development by Francis and was a fellow Jesuit confidant of the late Pope.

It’s this sense of papal openness that is likely behind the new TLM status quo. More moderate prelates like Cardinals Koch and Goh are willing to pushback against Traditionis Custodes with less fear of papal reprisal, while the likes of Archbishop Weisenburger and Bishop Martin feel like they have free rein to move forward with their restrictions.

But Pope Leo’s style of patient listening doesn’t mean that he won’t make any new decisions on TLM access. And given his desire for promoting Church unity, the new Pope is likely to take new evidence and points of view seriously as he discerns his next steps.

For instance, Pope Leo might revisit a survey Pope Francis had conducted of the hierarchy’s views on the TLM, especially if, as recently leaked documents indicate, the bishops were more favorable than Francis seemed to suggest when he issued Traditionis Custodes.

Additionally, Pope Leo could directly seek out conversations with advocates for the TLM who were sidelined under Francis — perhaps what he was doing with Cardinal Burke at a Vatican private audience on Aug. 25.

What seems clear is that Pope Leo XIV has ushered in a new, more open climate among the Church hierarchy, allowing for greater freedom of expression on previously taboo topics like access to the TLM.

It might not mean that supporters of the pre-conciliar liturgy will get exactly what they want. But it likely indicates that they’ll at least get a hearing.

This article was originally published on National Catholic Register.