if you are not catholic you may not know about the Vatican II council, which modernized the catholic church in the early 1960's and sparked a revival in interest. it loosened rules regarding mass, allowed more contemporary music into the services, and relegated the latin masses to history.

BUT! many hard core catholics have long felt the council was a betrayal of what the church is really about and have worked for decades to reverse it. benedict, as a cardinal VEHEMENTLY opposed the council and never changed his mind. now, as pope, he is begining to sweep aside the reforms and reinstitute the old ways again. this is most likely just the beginning.

more at link


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070526/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_latin_liturgy


Pope considers return to Latin mass

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer Sat May 26, 4:17 PM ET

VATICAN CITY - It was one of the most radical reforms to emerge from the Second
Vatican Council. The Mass, root of Roman Catholic worship, would be celebrated in the local language and not in Latin.
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Now, little more than a generation later,
Pope Benedict XVI is poised to revive the 16th-century Tridentine Mass.

In doing so, he will be overriding objections from some cardinals, bishops and Jews — whose complaints range from the text of the old Mass to the symbolic sweeping aside of the council's work from 1962-65. Many in the church regard Vatican II as a moment of badly needed reform and a new beginning, a view at odds with Benedict, who sees it as a renewal of church tradition.

A Vatican official, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, confirmed earlier this month that Benedict would soon relax the restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass because of a "new and renewed interest" in the celebration — especially among younger Catholics.

In recent decades, priests could only celebrate the Tridentine Mass with permission from their bishop. Church leaders are anxiously awaiting Benedict's decision, to see how far he will go in easing that rule.

Castrillon Hoyos denied the move represented a "step backward, a regression to times before the reforms." Rather, it was an attempt to give the faithful greater access to a "treasure" of the church.