The discipline of «Collective Masses» Legal-pastoral analysis of the decree "Secundum probatum"

Abstract

This article offers a systematic study of the new decree Secundum probatum, promulgated by the Dicastery for the Clergy, which reforms the discipline of so-called collective or multi-intentional Masses. The analysis highlights how the new regulatory text, while confirming fundamental theological principles, marks a paradigm shift with respect to the previous decree Mos iugiter (1991): in fact, there is a shift from a discipline designed to curb abuse to a legal framework which, motivated by pastoral needs, aims to govern practice in a proactive and subsidiary manner.

The author examines the main legal innovations: the strengthening of the consent of the offerer, which becomes a fundamental guarantee and can never be presumed; the transfer of the power to authorise this exceptional practice to the collegial bodies of the ecclesiastical province, with a view to marked subsidiarity; the greater flexibility granted to the celebrant, balanced by a strict obligation to allocate excess offerings; and an enhanced duty of supervision on the part of the Ordinary, who may resort to disciplinary and criminal measures to combat abuse.

Finally, the contribution highlights the peculiar validity of the norm, which creates a dual legal regime: the new discipline applies only in territories where bishops decide to actively implement it, leaving the Mos iugiter decree in force elsewhere. The decree thus emerges not as a technical adjustment, but as a thoughtful legal-pastoral response, which entrusts local discernment with the management of a delicate practice, protecting sacramental grace, the faith of the faithful, and the dignity of the priestly ministry.