Pope Leo XIV just said that priests should remain faithful to the rubrics of the Mass. Okay, then. Let’s actually take that seriously for a moment, because if the Pope is telling priests to remain faithful to the rubrics, then what exactly are we supposed to make of priests who routinely decide to do their own thing during Mass? I’m not talking about legitimate options that the Roman Missal actually gives the priest. I’m talking about adding things that aren’t there, removing things that are there, changing things because Father doesn’t like them, or inserting something because it fits his personality or his particular idea of what the congregation needs. If the Church gives you a liturgy and says, “This is how you are to celebrate it,” and you knowingly decide, “Well, I’m going to do it my way,” then isn’t that, at the very least, disobedience to the Church’s liturgical law? And if the Pope himself is now emphasizing fidelity to the rubrics, are these priests being disobedient to the Pope as well?
And here’s where I think we need to be careful with our language. Are we going to start calling every priest who abuses the liturgy a schismatic? Are they automatically latae sententiae excommunicated? No. Obviously, it is not that simple, and we shouldn’t throw around canonical penalties as if every liturgical abuse automatically triggers excommunication. Canon law has specific requirements for schism and for the application of canonical penalties. But the question still deserves to be asked: what does deliberate and repeated disobedience to the Church’s liturgical norms actually mean? Because we have somehow reached a point where some priests seem to think that the rubrics are more like suggestions than actual instructions.
And honestly, sometimes watching certain Masses feels less like the Roman Rite and more like Father has been handed the Roman Missal and told, “Here’s the basic template. Now make it your own.” The priest adds something here. Removes something there. Changes a gesture. Inserts a little commentary. Has the congregation do something that isn’t prescribed. And then, somehow, everyone is expected to pretend that this is perfectly normal because, well, “Father likes doing it this way.” Since when did the personality of the priest become the governing principle of the liturgy?
The priest is not the owner of the Mass. He is not the author of the Mass. He is not supposed to be the liturgical equivalent of a DJ remixing a song because he thinks his version sounds better. The Mass belongs to Christ and is entrusted to His Church. The priest has an incredibly sacred role within it, but that role does not give him permission to redesign the liturgy according to his personal preferences.
And this is exactly why the issue of liturgical abuse matters. You hear people complain about the Novus Ordo, and then someone will immediately say, “Well, the Novus Ordo isn’t the problem. It’s the way some priests celebrate it.” And there is a very important point there.
The existence of liturgical abuse does not automatically prove that the liturgical form itself is invalid or illegitimate. But it absolutely does raise the question of why these abuses have become so common in certain places and why they are tolerated for so long.
Because let’s be honest: dancing at Mass is not magically justified simply because someone calls it “joyful.” If the rubrics and the GIRM don’t call for dancing in a particular circumstance, then you don’t get to invent it because you think the Mass needs more energy. Dancing here, dancing there, everyone doing something different, Father adding his own little touches throughout the liturgy. At some point you have to ask: are we celebrating the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, or are we attending Father’s personal liturgical production?
And yes, I know the response. “But it helps people participate.” Okay. But participation does not mean everyone gets to become a liturgical choreographer. The Church already tells us how the faithful participate in the Mass. We don’t need to manufacture participation by constantly adding things that aren’t in the liturgical books.
The funny thing is that nobody would accept this kind of attitude in almost any other area of Church life. Imagine if a priest said, “I know what the canon says, but I have my own version.” Or, “I know what the Church teaches, but I personally think this would work better.” People would immediately recognize the problem. But when it comes to the liturgy, suddenly the rules become optional because apparently Father has a really creative pastoral vision.
No. If the Church gives us rubrics, follow the rubrics. If the Church gives legitimate options, choose among those options. If something isn’t permitted, don’t add it simply because you like it. And if something is required, don’t remove it simply because it doesn’t fit your personal style.
This is not about being rigid for the sake of being rigid. It’s about recognizing that the Mass is not ours to customize. The priest doesn’t need to make the Mass “his own.” That’s precisely the problem. The more the personality of the priest becomes the center of the liturgy, the more the liturgy starts pointing toward the priest instead of toward Christ.
So when Pope Leo XIV says priests should remain faithful to the rubrics, perhaps we should stop treating that as some vague inspirational statement and actually listen to what he’s saying. Follow the rubrics. Follow the Roman Missal. Follow the GIRM. Stop improvising where the Church has not given you permission to improvise.
The Mass doesn’t need a DJ. It doesn’t need a remix. It doesn’t need Father’s personalized edition. It doesn’t need dancing because somebody thinks silence is boring. It doesn’t need constant additions because somebody thinks the congregation isn’t engaged enough.
It needs fidelity.
And if the Pope is telling priests to be faithful to the rubrics, then the obvious question is: will the priests who have been treating the liturgy like their personal creative project actually listen? Because obedience sounds like a very good place to start.