In the context of the dialogue between the Vatican and the Lefebvrists, in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre in 1988: Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta.
Despite the Holy See’s efforts at dialogue and the society’s refusal to recognize ecclesiastical documents — especially from the Second Vatican Council — the Lefebvrists do not have a recognized status in the Catholic Church.
Traditionis Custodes and the Traditional Latin Mass
The Panamanian bishops clarified: “As for the celebration of the Mass in Latin, we communicate that it is not prohibited in the Catholic Church, but it must be approved by the bishops (Traditiones Custodes, 2) and the use of the Vetus Ordo [Mass in Latin that was celebrated before the Second Vatican Council] can only be authorized by the Holy See.”
The Vatican published the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes (“Guardians of Tradition”) by Pope Francis on July 16, 2021. The text almost completely restricts the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (extraordinary form) or Tridentine rite of the 1962 Missal.
With this document, the Holy Father changed the provisions given by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in 2007, which led to the Traditional Latin Mass becoming more widely available.