The Vatican says leaked documents that seemingly undermined Pope Francis’ stated reason for restricting the old Latin Mass were only part of the evidence he consulted before cracking down on the spread of the ancient liturgy in 2021.

The debate in the Catholic Church over the celebration of the old Latin Mass is heating up just as Pope Leo XIV's pontificate is getting under way, with the apparent leak of Vatican documents that undermine the stated reason of his predecessor Pope Francis for restricting access to the ancient liturgy.