Despite continuing suppression of the traditional liturgy – which appears to be concentrated in some dioceses of the United States – four cardinals and an archbishop are to celebrate five traditional pontifical liturgies in Rome and the U.S. over the next month. At 3 p.m. this coming Saturday, Cardinal Raymond Burke will celebrate a pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the annual “Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage” attended by traditional Catholics from around the world. The cardinal last celebrated a pontifical Mass for the same event in the basilica in 2014. The decision to allow the Mass to go ahead appears to have come from the top. “Clearly, [it was] because the Pope said: ‘Let them do it,’” Msgr. Marco Agostini, a papal master of ceremonies and a leading advocate of the traditional Mass in Rome, told The Washington Post Oct. 19.
