The questions surrounding Quo Primum are numerous. To answer them, we should at the very least consider:
- the language used
- the level of magisterial authority of the document
- the content of the Missal itself
- the context in which it was written
Quo Primum announces that the new Missal is to be used in perpetuity. A Missal is simply a book containing all the texts used in the Catholic Mass during the liturgical year. If the “New” Missal of 1570 were in any way innovative or experimental, then Quo Primum which insists on binding all current and future priests to it immediately after its adoption would seem revolutionary. One might question whether a “Missal innovator” has the authority to end all future “Missal innovations”. Does it not, after all, seem presumptuous to create something and then bind all future generations to it in perpetuity?
The key to answering this question is the content of the Missal itself. What is this Missal? St Pius V states that after much labour, the theologians involved, having consulted ancient codices, “thus restored the Missal itself to the pristine form and rite of the holy Fathers”. The solemn language of Quo Primum pertains to the preservation and restoration of the Missal for its faithful proximity to the rite of the Holy Fathers. There is no innovation in itself, rather it represents a restoration of the Mass celebrated at least as far back as the second century.
Leaving aside the question of whether the “learned men” succeeded in perfectly restoring the rite practised by the Holy Fathers, the Missal of Pius V was an attempt to preserve the traditional rite against those who sought to introduce innovations, which more often than not were inspired by the Protestantism that had spread through Europe. Quo Primum is deeply conservative in its objectives and stern in its call for loyalty and obedience from all members of the Catholic Church.
Between 1570 and 1960, some corrections and minor changes occurred. These changes cannot be said to contradict the message of Quo Primum and cannot be compared to the sort of change that might affect all the fundamental assumptions underlying the Mass as understood since ancient times, such as:
- the Mass is centred on God
- the priest is offering a non-bloody sacrifice at the altar
- the priest is leading the faithful towards God, the altar and the sacrifice
- the Eucharist becomes after the words of consecration the Real Presence of Christ
- only the priest whose hands are anointed during the Mass may directly touch the consecrated host, which has become the Body of Christ under the appearance of bread
- the faithful who are not in mortal sin may receive the Eucharist on the tongue with special care taken such that not one speck of the consecrated host should fall to the floor … and so on.
Quo Primum wishes to assert two key rules: that the Church should to the best of her ability preserve the liturgical traditions established by the Apostles who were trained by Jesus Christ, the founder of the Church; and that since the Mass is prayer then lex orandi lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of the faith) demands that the Mass is inextricably bound up with the tenets, axioms, core beliefs of Christianity – in other words, every part of it has a theological dimension and is not merely a matter of ceremony or custom, and in some way open to “evolution”. St Pius V knew that the plethora of Protestant liturgical innovations, most of which implicitly contradicted the above-stated theological assumptions, were nothing more than personalised expressions of their break with the theology of orthodox Catholicism, the core beliefs. Quo Primum must be seen as integral to the raison d’être of the Council of Trent – that perfect expression and summit of the Catholic counter-Reformation – namely, to protect and preserve against current and future attacks against the Church and the Fides Quae, the Faith, the doctrines and liturgical practices taught initially by Christ then handed down by the Apostles.
If this is the case, then it is not so easy to dismiss “a preference for attending the Tridentine rite” as merely the result of aesthetics or nostalgia or disordered “rigidity”. Rather, something far more profound is being expressed in this preference. The very structure of the Tridentine Mass is aimed at optimising the way we give glorify and thanks to God. The assumption of Quo Primum was that the rite that has been practised since the beginning must be protected and carefully preserved for all future Christians. If anyone wishes to supress or reduce to insignificance the Tridentine rite, the Mass of Ages, then, in the interests of fairness, clear reasons should be presented as to 1) whether drawing closer to God is still a priority, and if not why not?; 2) how one can be sure that there are no unforeseen logical consequences to such a suppression; 3) since we can know a tree by its fruit, whether there is any evidence to suggest that fundamental innovations concerning the language, music, prayers, and interaction of the faithful with the priest, actually contribute to transmitting the faith of the fathers to each new generation of Catholics. Reality would suggest that the answers to these three questions are “Yes”, “We cannot” and “None whatsoever”. But, then, reality can be very rude.
This is the whole point of Quo Primum, precisely, to stress that the Missal to which we as Catholics adhere is much more than a liturgical preference, and cannot coexist with a variety of differing core beliefs. The Missal of Pius V is the fulcrum of orthodox Catholicism, otherwise why would the enemies of Catholicism have led the charge, so vehemently and for so many centuries, for radical liturgical innovation? No one generation of innovators should be allowed too presume the right to put at risk that which it is our solemn duty to pass down from one generation to the next. Pius V submitted his generation to pious fidelity to past traditions of liturgical practice. His was a gesture of humility, not hubris.
The fourfold nature of the Church is defined in the Nicene Creed as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Unity, being and acting as one, is a key theme in the text of Quo Primum. Pius V insists on liturgical unity: “it shall be unlawful henceforth and forever throughout the Christian world to sing or to read Masses according to any formula other than that of this Missal published by Us; this ordinance to apply to all churches and chapels”. Aside from the one exception of Churches whose rite has been practiced for at least 200 years (for example, the Ambrosian Rite), all present and future masses must not stray from this Missal. If Pius V were in any way hesitant about the importance of establishing this Missal once and for all he would not have written: “by this present Constitution, which shall have the force of law in perpetuity, We order and enjoin under pain of Our displeasure that nothing be added to Our newly published Missal, nothing omitted therefrom, and nothing whatsoever altered there in”.
Finally, and importantly for our understanding of the current controversies in 2021, there is in Quo Primum an understanding (or foreboding?) that somewhere or at some time pressure may be applied to priests so that they celebrate the Mass in a different way:
“We give and grant in perpetuity that for the singing or reading of Mass in any church whatsoever this Missal may be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment or censure, and may be freely and lawfully used. Nor shall bishops, administrators, canons, chaplains and other secular priests, or religious of whatsoever Order or by whatsoever title designated, be obliged to celebrate Mass otherwise than enjoined by Us. We likewise order and declare that no one whosoever shall be forced or coerced into altering this Missal; and this present Constitution can never be revoked or modified, but shall forever remain valid and have the force of law, notwithstanding previous constitutions or edicts of provincial or synodal councils, and notwithstanding the usage of the churches aforesaid established by very long and even immemorial prescription, saving only usage of more than two hundred years.” [my emphasis]
http://www.theholymass.com/part9.htm
[N.B. This raises many questions about levels of magisterial authority, questions which shall be discussed in future posts]
Perhaps the enduring message of Quo Primum to Catholics of our day is simply that the Mass was never supposed to be a form of entertainment, but a chance to express our humility, love and contrition before the Creator of the Universe. So, we all can (and must) put away our harmonicas and banjos and (maybe, just maybe!) return to the age-old practice of bending the knee to our God as a sign of love, respect, awe and repentance.
-Brendan Muller 24th July, 2021
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
