The Liturgical Changes of Pope Pius XII

May a Catholic Reject Laws Promulgated by a Legitimate Pope?

by Rev. Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI

Originally published in The Reign of Mary, Issue No. 161

Modernists, in their attempt to destroy the Catholic liturgy, gradually and cunningly introduced the New “Mass” or Novus Ordo, the new sacraments and the liturgical changes resulting from Vatican II. As a result, traditional Catholics are wary of liturgical change. Some traditionalists have unfortunately gone so far as to reject the legitimate changes introduced by Pope Pius XII, whom they yet consider a true pope.

They erroneously claim that some of these changes, including the new Holy Week Missal, were the first steps toward the Novus Ordo, due to the involvement of Monsignor Annibale Bugnini and the tinkering of Modernists. These strongly opinionated souls do not reject the changes entirely; they pick and choose what to accept and what to reject. For example, they observe the pope’s revision of the Communion fast and permission for evening Masses. Who gives them the authority to determine which liturgical rites, decrees and rubrics to follow?

Pope Pius XII enacted several liturgical changes, among which are the following:

1) For many centuries the Catholic Church required persons to fast from midnight from all food and liquids, including water, before the reception of Holy Communion. In the 1950’s, Pope Pius XII changed the fasting laws to one hour from non-alcoholic drinks and three hours from food and alcoholic drinks. Water and medicine can be taken at any time before receiving the Holy Eucharist. As a result of this change, Catholics are able to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion more frequently. American priests who often offered multiple or later Masses on Sundays appreciated the change.

2) His Holiness allowed the celebration of afternoon and evening Masses — a major change from previous observances.

3) In 1955 he simplified the rubrics of the Roman Breviary and Missal by changing the rankings of some feastdays and eliminating some octaves and vigils. He implemented into the Breviary the reforms made to the Monastic Breviary by Pope St. Pius X.

4) In 1955 Pope Pius XII approved a new Holy Week Missal that restored some of the ceremonies that had been altered over the years. He also made it easier for working people to attend the liturgy on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil by restoring the ceremonies to their original and appropriate time. From apostolic times the Catholic Church celebrated the liturgy of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil “at the same hours of the day that the sacred mysteries occurred. Thus the institution of the Holy Eucharist was recalled on Holy Thursday evening, the Passion and Crucifixion was recalled on Good Friday in the hours after noon and the Easter Vigil occurred on Holy Saturday night, ending on Easter morning with the joy of Our Lord’s resurrection.”

“During the middle ages… [the Church] began for various pertinent reasons to set an earlier time for the performance of liturgical services on those days, so that toward the end of that period all of these liturgical services had been transferred to the morning. This did not take place without detriment to the liturgical meaning and confusion between the Gospel narratives and the liturgical ceremonies attached to them” (Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, pp. 1-2, November 16, 1955.)

The solemn liturgical services of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil were held in the morning in nearly empty churches because few could attend. Schoolboys replaced men for Holy Thursday’s liturgical footwashing ceremony because laymen were compelled to work. Due to Pope Pius XlI’s restoration of Holy Week, Catholic churches are now packed and the faithful come in large numbers to assist at the liturgy and receive Holy Communion.

In 1951 Pope Pius XII restored the Easter Vigil to the late evening, its proper time:

“For centuries the Church has known the incongruity of celebrating the Easter Vigil — a service whose texts [e.g., the alleluias] and symbolism [e.g., the Lumen Christi] obviously call for the night hours — at a very early hour in the morning of Holy Saturday when Christ certainly had not yet arisen. That this was not always so is proved beyond doubt by historical documents” (John Miller, C.S.C., “The History and Spirit of Holy Week,” The American Ecclesiastical Review, p. 235).

Pope Pius XII reduced the number of lessons recited from twelve to four, reverting to the practice of St. Gregory the Great. The pope ordained that the Lenten fast conclude at midnight on Holy Saturday instead of noon in order to complete the 40 day fast, rather than 39 days’ fast. This disciplinary law ensures that Holy Saturday retains its mournful character at the death of our Redeemer Who lay in the Holy Sepulcher.

5) In 1954 Pope Pius XII revised the Divine Office, omitting several prayers, such as the Our Father, Hail Mary and Creed before the hours, the preces at Lauds and Vespers with some exceptions, the lengthy Athanasian Creed, except for Trinity Sunday, etc. According to the Sacred Congregation of Rites, the main purpose of these modifications was “to reduce the great complexity of the rubrics to simpler form.”

Pope St. Pius X had already introduced some of these changes into the Monastic Breviary. Through the influence of the Benedictines, Pope Pius XII extended them to all the clergy. By simplifying the rubrics and shortening the prayers, it became easier for priests to faithfully and devoutly fulfill their obligation of daily recitation of the Divine Office. The clergy welcomed these wise changes.

Pope Pius XII officially approved and promulgated these changes. Bugnini had no authority to promulgate anything. To refer to the Restored Ordo of Holy Week as Bugnini’s liturgy is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest. Whatever part he may have had does not obscure the fact that numerous orthodox cardinals and liturgists were involved in preparing these changes.

The Sacred Congregation of Rites was established to direct the liturgy of the Latin Church. By the Latin Church is meant that section of the Catholic Church, by far the largest, that uses Latin in its ceremonies. Pope Pius XII established a commission “to examine the question of restoring the Ordo of Holy Week and propose a solution. After obtaining that answer, His Holiness decreed, as the seriousness of the affair demanded, that the entire question be subjected to a special examination by the Cardinals of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.”

[When the Cardinals gathered at the Vatican in the 1950’s,] “they considered the affair thoroughly and voted unanimously that the restored Ordo of Holy Week be approved and prescribed, subject to the approval of the Holy Father. After all this had been reported in detail to the Holy Father by the… Cardinal Prefect, His Holiness deigned to approve what the Cardinals had decided. Hence, by special mandate of the same Pope Pius XII, the Sacred Congregation of Rites has decreed the following… [giving specific directions, including:] Those who follow the Roman rite are bound… to follow the Restored Ordo for Holy Week, set forth in the official Vatican edition” (Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, pp. 1-2, November 16, 1955.)

According to Pope Pius XII, the liturgical reforms he enacted were “a sign of the providential dispositions of God for the present time of the movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church” (The Assisi Papers, Proceedings of the First International Congress of Pastoral Liturgy, Assisi-Rome, September 18-22, 1956, p. 224.) Christ said to St. Peter and his lawful successors, “He who hears you, hears Me” (Luke 10: 16). The matter at stake is obedience to the supreme legitimate authority of the Catholic Church. A true pope approved these changes. We must accept these changes as lawful and binding unless we can prove that Pope Pius XII was not a true pope.

The claim that Pope Pius XII did not approve the Restored Holy Week is without foundation. It is ridiculous to claim that Pope Pius XII had no idea what the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the whole Catholic world were doing regarding Holy Week. Isn’t that the same argument some use to defend the postconciliar “popes” -that since the death of Pope Pius XII, the “Vicars of Christ” have had no idea what has been going on in the Catholic Church? The claim that he was senile or in any way incapable of ruling the Church is also completely absurd in the light of his later encyclicals, addresses and speeches, up to the year of his death.

Pope Pius VI stigmatized as “at least erroneous” the hypothesis “that the Church could establish discipline which would be dangerous, harmful, conducive to superstition and materialism” (D. 1578). In Session 22, canon 7, the Council of Trent condemns anyone who says that the ceremonies of the Church are a stimulus to impiety rather than to piety.

The changes introduced by Pope Pius XII are lawful, holy and conducive to the sanctification and salvation of souls. The Catholic Church has consistently taught that a valid pope cannot promulgate a liturgical ceremony or law that is harmful to faith and piety or displeasing to God. In such decisions the pope is protected by infallibility.

Theologians teach that universal disciplinary laws and liturgical changes are secondary objects of infallibility. This is clearly explained by Monsignor Van Noort: “The well-known axiom, Lex orandi est lex credenda (The law of prayer is the law of belief), is a special application of the doctrine of the Church’s infallibility in disciplinary matters. This axiom says in effect that formulae of prayer approved for public use in the universal Church cannot contain errors against faith and morals” (Christ’s Church, p. 116).

The liturgical changes of Pope Pius XII — the institution of the feastday of St. Joseph the Workman, the restoration of Holy Week, the fasting laws before Holy Communion, etc. — are not sinful. If anyone should say that they are heretical or sinful, he would be accusing the infallible teaching authority of the Church of sacrilegious practices and doctrinal errors that corrupt the faith, compromise its doctrines and harm souls. Such an accusation would be a denial that Christ protects His Church and its sacred liturgy from evil and error.

Pope Pius XII forbade, in most precise language, priests from using the previous liturgy any longer. He also condemned antiquarianism, the practice of returning to earlier liturgical practices not in conformity with current rubrics and ecclesiastical laws, for such a reversal would imply that the Holy Ghost does not actively guide the Church. Older is not always better, especially when in defiance to the orders of a true pope.

Our motive for following the liturgical changes of Pope Pius XII is the infallible teaching authority of the Church. The changes were authorized by an infallible Vicar of Christ and were officially promulgated to replace previously existing rites and laws. Since Pope Pius XII was a true pope, we must obey his commands regarding the sacred liturgy. Obedience is the safest, most consistent and orthodox course.

On the other hand, those who accept Pius XII as a true pope while refusing to accept his liturgical decrees, demonstrate defiance and disobedience. By picking and choosing what they will accept, they set themselves up as the supreme authority of the Catholic Church. They claim the right to judge the pope, sift what he teaches and decide what they will obey and what they will reject. It is wrong to pick and choose what to obey and what to discard. It is a mark of rebellion to refuse obedience to a true Vicar of Christ; rebellion in matters of obedience to legitimate authority is always a danger to the Faith.

Gallicanism was a heresy adverse to papal jurisdiction, tending to limit the power of the pope. It began in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe. As a result, many Europeans lost their sense of obedience to the pope. In 1682 the French clergy formulated the Four Articles that became obligatory for all schools and teachers of theology. The fourth article stated that papal judgment lacks value without the consent of the Church. Pope Alexander VIII, Pope Pius VI and the Vatican Council condemned Gallicanism. Sadly, the spirit of Gallicanism is prevalent today.

Those who reject the liturgical changes of Pope Pius XII are inconsistent. If they accept Pius XII as pope, they must reserve their opinions about his liturgy, put aside their liturgical likes and dislikes and simply obey him. The Catholic mentality is obedience to lawful superiors in all matters except sin.

The spirit of obedience to legitimate authority was expressed by the mother of Lucia, one of the Fatima children. When Lucia’s mother was asked why the new pastor did not allow dancing and the old one did, she answered: “I don’t know why the old one allowed it and now the new one doesn’t. If the new pastor does not want dancing, my children will not dance.”

I will conclude with an address of Pope St. Pius X to the priests of the Apostolic Union:

“When one loves the pope one does not stop to debate about what he advises or demands, to ask how far the rigorous duty of obedience extends and to mark the limit of this obligation. When one loves the pope, one does not object that he has not spoken clearly enough, as if he were obliged to repeat into the ear of each individual his will, so often clearly expressed, not only viva voce [by a living voice], but also by letters and other public documents; one does not call his orders into doubt on the pretext — easily advanced by whoever does not wish to obey — that they emanate not directly from him, but from his entourage; one does not limit the field in which he can and should exercise his will; one does not oppose to the authority of the pope that of other persons, however learned, who differ in opinion from the pope. Besides, however great their knowledge, their holiness is wanting, for there can be no holiness where there is disagreement with the pope” (AAS 1912, p. 695).

We must remember that all this is contingent upon a legitimate and validly elected pope; this doesn’t apply to a heretical or invalidly elected pope — a false pope.