Bishop Athanasius Schneider has issued a forceful critique of a recent liturgy report prepared by Cardinal Arthur Roche, saying it relies on “manipulative reasoning” and “distorts historical evidence.”
The Cardinal’s two-page text—framed as a “careful theological, historical, and pastoral reflection”—was distributed to members of the Sacred College at a Jan. 7–8 consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV. Although it was not formally presented or discussed at the meeting due to time constraints, the report received significant pushback from clergy and faithful after its contents circulated in the media.
In a point-by-point analysis, Bishop Schneider challenges both the historical assumptions and theological premises underlying the text. Drawing on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, papal teaching, and the testimony of scholars and witnesses directly involved in the postconciliar liturgical reform, he argues that the report reflects not an impartial and careful analysis, but rather an ideological approach marked by what he calls “rigid clericalism.”
At the center of the bishop’s critique is the claim that the liturgical reform implemented in 1970 represents a rupture with the organic development of the Roman Rite. Bishop Schneider maintains that the Mass most faithful to the Council was the Ordo Missae of 1965, and that the form later promulgated by Pope Paul VI — the Novus Ordo Missae — was substantially rejected by the first Synod of Bishops after the Council in 1967.
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