CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma suspended the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in the Archdiocese of Cebu “pending further discussion and until such time that we can come up with clear guidelines and regulations on these Masses.”
The suspension was announced in a letter by Monsignor Renato Beltran Jr., chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cebu, on Palma’s behalf. The letter was addressed to the Latin Mass community and the three priests authorized by Palma to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Mass or TLM in Cebu: Monsignor Joseph Tan, Father Andrei Ventanilla, and Father Luigi Kerschbamer.
The letter, dated November 28, was publicized on Monday, December 2, by Pio Gerard Fulache Antiquina, director of the Latin Mass Community of Cebu.
The suspension in Cebu is significant because the TLM is a lightning rod for debate within the Catholic Church. Traditionalists often criticize liturgical reforms brought about by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, which allowed Mass to be said in the vernacular and not only in Latin. Some outrightly reject the Novus Ordo or the common form of the Mass introduced after the Vatican II reforms.
Pope Francis himself has been criticized by adherents for restricting the TLM in the July 2021 apostolic letter Traditiones Custodes.
Speaking to Rappler on Tuesday, December 3, Antiquina said he was shocked by the notice. He sent a letter to Palma on October 29, asking for a designation of a new chaplain after Tan said he was no longer able to celebrate the TLM for their community.
Tan told Rappler he took a break from celebrating the TLM because of his other work in the seminary and since there were two other priests who could say the Mass anyway.
Antiquina also requested Palma for Latin Masses on the feast days on November 1 and 2, and December 25 in 2024, and on January 1, 2025.
“I’m honestly in shock. I did not see this coming as I had received a positive response from the Archbishop’s secretary regarding the letter I had sent back on October 29th. As per the secretary, the Archbishop suggested Father Luigi Kerschbamer to be our chaplain and we stay lang in Tabor OAD for Mass. So I understood His Excellency’s response that the Community’s TLM would continue as is, every Sunday,” Antiquina said in an interview over Messenger.
Just as they received the notice, Antiquina said he and his colleagues were removed as administrators of their Facebook page. The name of the page was also changed on Monday, December 2, from Latin Mass Community of Cebu to Latin Mass – Archdiocese of Cebu. Some posts have also been deleted, he said.
Antiquina said his colleagues in the community “are very disheartened to hear of the news.” But he said he was “very optimistic with how the Archbishop would handle this case.”
In Cebu, Archbishop Palma has authorized the celebration of the TLM only in the Chapel of the Holy Relics in OAD Tabor Hill in Barangay San Jose in Cebu City. Only Tan, Ventanilla, and Kerschbamer are authorized to celebrate the Mass.
The restrictions are in keeping Francis’ Traditiones Custodes.
Under the document, the bishop has sole jurisdiction over the celebration of the TLM in their territory. The bishop must also ensure that “groups who celebrate the Latin Mass do not deny the validity and legitimacy of the liturgical reform dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs.”
Bishops are also asked “not to authorize the establishment of new groups” on the TLM.
Antiquina said the development “leaves our regular attendees with no Latin Mass to go to, half of whom are not comfortable with attending the Latin Mass in other places in Cebu.”
Another group holding TLM in Cebu is the Saint Pius V Chapel in Umapad in Mandaue City, which is administered by the Society of Saint Pius X or SSPX.
The SSPX is a traditionalist group founded by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by Pope Saint John Paul II along with the four bishops he consecrated despite Vatican opposition. Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication.
Tan said the Latin Mass by the SSPX is outside the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese. The SSPX has an irregular status with the Vatican.
The Marian Corps of Saint Pius X, which was organized by priests expelled from the SSPX for opposing normalization of ties with the Vatican, also regularly holds TLM in Cebu. On certain Sundays, MCSPX priests would hold three different TLMs in various locations in Cebu.
Antiquina is part of a community of young people in Cebu who attend and assist in the celebration of the TLM. The youth’s attraction to the TLM is part of a global trend. Young people interviewed by Rappler said the TLM deepens their Catholic faith. – Rappler.com
Max Limpag, a freelance journalist based in Cebu, is an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.