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On
the Feast of the Epiphany, Francis seemed to direct specific
criticism at those who have balked at his decision to restrict
the traditionalist Latin Mass, saying the liturgy could not be
trapped in a "dead language."
"Have we been stuck all too long, nestled inside a conventional,
external and formal religiosity that no longer warms our hearts
and changes our lives?," Francis said.
"Do our words and our liturgies ignite in people's hearts a
desire to move towards God, or are they a 'dead language' that
speaks only of itself and to itself?"
The Latin Mass went out of general use after the 1962-1965
Second Vatican Council and was substituted by local languages.
In July, having argued that the Latin Mass was being exploited
by anti-reformists to harm the Church's unity, Francis tightened
regulations on when it could be celebrated, overturning
decisions by his two predecessors.
Since then some conservatives, including bishops, have openly
defied the pope, resulting in the latest chapter of what some
have dubbed the Church's "liturgy wars".
Faith was not "a suit of armour that encases us; instead, it is
a fascinating journey, a constant and restless movement, ever in
search of God," Francis said.
The pope made his comments in the homily at a Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica on the day Christians commemorate what the
Bible says was the arrival of the three wise men, or magi, in
Bethlehem following Jesus' birth.
Participation was limited to about 1,500 people because of
COVID-19 restrictions.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella)
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