Cardinal Kurt Koch said that 'we have to rethink' Pope Francis' restrictions on the Latin Mass, and a bishop in Norway vowed to continue and possibly expand the TLM in his diocese.
By Antonino Cambria
Lifesite News
July 8, 2026
Since the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without a papal mandate and the subsequent decree of excommunication by the Holy See, some Catholic bishops and a cardinal have said that the Vatican should rethink the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes, while at least one ordinary has promised to expand access to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in his diocese.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who served as Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary, in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, published on July 2, denounced the society's July 1 consecrations but emphasized that the Church should now be more flexible in allowing priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said that the Church should rethink Traditionis Custodes to accommodate the faithful devoted to the Latin Mass who do not share the "ideology" of the SSPX.
In a July 3 diocesan statement, Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo, Norway, called the consecrations "schismatic" but promised to continue allowing and even expanding access to the TLM in his diocese for the faithful devoted to the ancient liturgy.
During his interview, Archbishop Gänswein, who is currently the apostolic nuncio to the Baltic States, compared the SSPX to Protestants and lamented that the society did not respond more favorably to Pope Benedict's outreach to the order back in 2009, which included lifting the excommunications of the four bishops consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.
But, the archbishop highlighted that there are many clergy and faithful with a strong devotion to the TLM and expressed his desire for the Vatican to now be more "flexible" and "generous" in allowing its celebration.
"There are faithful in the Church who celebrate using the (traditional) Latin rite-for example, the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP)-and they do so 'cum Petro and sub Petro': never against the pope," he said. "Frankly speaking, I believe that Rome can now open up to the possibility of being more flexible, generous, and fatherly regarding the option of celebrating Mass in Latin."
Gänswein further underscored the great spiritual fruit of Summorum Pontificum, noting that the liturgical peace that Pope Benedict's motu proprio had fostered was destroyed by Traditionis Custodes and called for its reinstatement to restore that peace.
"Summorum Pontificum had borne fruit, as demonstrated by ten years of positive experiences. There had been abuses, it's true, but... the fact that there were a few was not a good reason to prohibit the Tridentine Mass for everyone," the archbishop said. "(If TC was abrogated) that liturgical peace, which has been damaged, would be restored."
Cardinal Koch, during a podcast for the German edition of the Catholic journal Communio, translated by Rorate Caeli, similarly decried the society's consecrations but argued that it would be "self-righteous" to condemn the SSPX while not also pondering "whether there are fundamental deficits in the Church today that are being recalled by the Society" and lamented that Traditionis Custodes "radically" curbed Pope Benedict's attempt to build liturgical unity.
"First, I think of the unresolved question of the relationship between the two forms of the one Roman Rite, as Pope Benedict called it. Pope Benedict showed a path there; Pope Francis curbed it somewhat radically," the prefect said. "I think we need to rethink this, especially for those faithful who feel drawn to this form of liturgy without sharing the entire ideological superstructure of the Society. For these faithful, I think we must look for new ways."
Meanwhile, Bishop Hansen of Oslo, where the SSPX has a chapel, stressed the importance of remaining "in union" with the Holy See, assured the faithful that they would continue to have access to the TLM, and expressed openness to expanding access to the ancient Roman rite should the need arise.
"As your shepherd, I therefore offer you an exhortation and some words about the future. The exhortation is simple: Hold fast to unity with Our Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, and with me as Bishop of Oslo," the bishop wrote.
"As for the future: You wish to be able to participate in the liturgical celebration according to the 1962 Missal. Many of you also look to a spiritual expression and a spirituality characterized by the pre-conciliar liturgy. I understand this," he added.
"Masses according to the 1962 Missal are celebrated every Sunday at St. Joseph Church in Oslo. This will continue. If there is a need for it and it will be for the good of the Church and of souls, I will also expand this type of Mass celebration in our local church.
This article was originally published on Lifesite News.