Cardinal Roche says liturgy meant to promote unity, not personal preference
Cardinal Arthur Roche stated that discussions concerning the liturgy should prioritize unity over personal preference. Roche emphasized that worship in church is a communal act, not an individual one, involving the congregation as a family called by God. The cardinal's remarks followed recent discussions about a text he prepared on the liturgy, which was given to cardinals during a January consistory. The circulated document defended the theological and historical basis of post-Vatican II liturgical reforms. The text also reaffirmed Pope Francis's restrictions on the preconciliar Latin Mass established in the 2021 document "Traditionis Custodes".
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Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, stated in a March 17, 2026, interview that liturgy promotes Church unity as a congregation, not individual preference.1 He drew from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, noting the Eucharist originates from Christ, not human invention.1
Roche prepared a document on liturgy circulated to cardinals at Pope Leo XIV's January 2026 extraordinary consistory.1 It defended post-Vatican II reforms and upheld restrictions on the preconciliar Latin Mass from Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.1
The text, leaked and published online, drew criticism from traditionalist Catholics.1
Roche described the document as an "accurate historical presentation" of liturgy's development.1 He framed debates within early Church tensions, stressing fidelity to received tradition over personal adaptations.1
The motu proprio addressed the older Mass being promoted against Vatican II reforms, threatening unity.1 Earlier concessions by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were pastoral but shifted under Pope Francis.1
Catholics can still celebrate the preconciliar Mass by papal authority, prompting Roche to question ongoing intense debates.1
Roche attributed its draw to modern society's "noise," offering quiet, reverence, and music.1 He challenged the Novus Ordo to match this reverence every Sunday, urging against pitting rites against each other.1
Abuses stem from lack of formation, occurring historically, including in St. Paul's time.1 Roche warned against controlling liturgy by preference, as it removes God from the equation.1
Examine the Catholic Church’s stance on liturgical unity versus personal preference
The Catholic Church teaches that liturgical unity is essential to her nature as the "sacrament of unity," manifesting the communion of the faithful in Christ under their bishops, while legitimate diversity enriches this unity provided it remains faithful to apostolic Tradition and does not yield to personal preferences or arbitrary changes. Personal inclinations must always be subordinate to the Church's communal worship, which is not a private function but a public act of the whole Body of Christ.
The Church's magisterium consistently emphasizes that liturgy is inherently communal and unitive, transcending individual or cultural differences to express the one Body of Christ gathered by the Holy Spirit.
Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations of the Church, which is the "sacrament of unity," namely, the holy people united and ordered under their bishops. Therefore liturgical services pertain to the whole body of the Church; they manifest it and have effects upon it.
This principle, rooted in Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC), underscores that every liturgical action—especially the Eucharist—fosters unity across races, cultures, and social divides. Pope John Paul II reinforced this in Dominicae Cenae, calling for efforts to ensure that eucharistic worship's pluralism manifests the Eucharist's role as "sign and cause" of unity, respecting post-conciliar norms while preserving essential characteristics. Similarly, in addresses to bishops, he highlighted liturgy's role in achieving "perfect communion in vinculo pacis," where actions pertain to the universal Church, not isolated groups.
The Catechism echoes this: the liturgical assembly derives unity from the Holy Spirit, transcending human affinities. Liturgical diversity, when present, must not damage this unity but express fidelity to common faith, sacramental signs from Christ, and hierarchical communion.
The Church recognizes that diversity in liturgical traditions can enrich catholicity, provided it preserves substantial unity, particularly in the Roman Rite.
The diverse liturgical traditions or rites, legitimately recognized, manifest the catholicity of the Church, because they signify and communicate the same mystery of Christ. The criterion that assures unity amid the diversity of liturgical traditions is fidelity to apostolic Tradition.
Sacrosanctum Concilium allows adaptations for groups, regions, and peoples—especially in mission lands—while insisting on the "substantial unity of the Roman rite." Pope John Paul II, addressing Indian bishops, affirmed respect for "spiritual adornments and gifts of the various races and peoples," admitting compatible elements into liturgy if they harmonize with its authentic spirit, as per Vatican II. The Catechism notes that liturgy expresses itself in local cultures without submission to them, generating and shaping cultures itself.
However, this diversity flows from apostolic succession and communion in faith and sacraments, not from subjective choices. Even concelebration, which manifests priestly unity, is regulated to maintain order.
Personal preferences cannot override the liturgy's objective structure, as no one—minister, community, or even supreme authority—may modify rites arbitrarily.
For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy.
The Church warns against "creative" freedom that disrupts unity. Dominicae Cenae permits limited pluralism from linguistic introductions but demands respect for liturgical books and instructions on Eucharistic communion. Scholarly reflections, aligned with magisterial teaching, critique "creative liturgy" and committees as inimical to worship, which requires "loving, non-personalized repetition" to render Christ's sacrifice present. Pope John Paul II decried "abuses which have been a source of suffering," such as misguided innovations departing from tradition.
In addresses, he stressed perceptible ritual unity across generations and cultures, avoiding opposition between universal and particular; assemblies are not "private actions" but sacraments of unity. Cultural adaptation demands "conversion of heart" and rejection of incompatible customs.
When personalism prevails, tensions arise: liturgical diversity can provoke "mutual misunderstandings, and even schisms" if not bounded by fidelity. Cardinal Sarah notes Benedict XVI's "liturgical peace," allowing mutual enrichment between forms, regretting later measures that risked reviving "liturgy wars" and threatening unity. Other sources highlight secularist intrusions and lay demands for "personal touches" (e.g., at weddings or funerals) as alien to koinonia—the communion in Christ.
The Church's apostolic note ensures mission fidelity, with bishops overseeing adaptations in collegial unity with the Holy See.
In summary, the Church prioritizes liturgical unity as manifesting her catholicity and communion in Christ, permitting diversity only insofar as it serves this end through fidelity to Tradition. Personal preferences must yield to the liturgy's communal, hierarchical nature, guarding against abuses that fragment the Body. This balance fosters sanctification, as sacred music and rites—integral to worship—unite minds and glorify God.