by Michael Haynes

The president of the U.S. Catholic bishops has urged Catholics to wait for Pope Leo to comment on the traditional Mass, rather than taking Cardinal Arthur Roche’s comments as the final word.

Speaking to Raymond Arroyo during EWTN’s flagship World Over programme, Archbishop Paul Coakley expressed some notable reticence about the import of a recent interview by Cardinal Roche regarding the future of the traditional Mass.

Asked by Arroyo about Roche’s recent Tabletinterview – in which he claimed that Pope Leo had no intention to change restrictions on the old rite – Coakley pointed to Leo, not Roche, as the man to pay attention to.

"I'm not sure that we've heard the last word from this pontificate on Traditionis Custodes," he opined. "Cardinal Roche has spoken, but until Pope Leo has spoken, I'm not sure that we know for sure what the way forward will be."

Roche told the Tablet emphatically that "no, Pope Leo is not going to change Traditionis Custodes, and he’s not going back to Summorum Pontificum."

However speculation has remained following Roche’s interview, with Vatican analysts questioning whether the cardinal was speaking for himself or on behalf of the Pope. Roche’s five-year term as prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship expired in May 2026, with growing rumours about his possible replacement by Leo and a potential change in policy as a result.

Coakley, the incumbent Archbishop of Oklahoma City, Coakley has served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) since November 2025. As such, his intervention regarding the import of Cardinal Roche’s interview is notable in its optics: the sitting USCCB president seemed to casually wave aside the prospect of putting any great store in Roche’s suggestion of no change to Traditionis Custodes.

Coakley also noted the "dilemma" faced by Catholics desiring to attend the traditional liturgy, whilst also being told by the Vatican not to frequent the liturgies of the Society of Saint Pius X. This situation could prompt more bishops to ease restrictions, he suggested.

"I think bishops are going to be discussing this among themselves and within their own dioceses. I noticed one of the dioceses in Texas has just this week relaxed some restrictions in order to make the Traditional Latin Mass more available, at least in that one diocese. So I think those are conversations that are happening internally, and certainly want to be solicitous for the pastoral needs of our Catholics who are attached to the Traditional Latin Mass."

Following the SSPX episcopal consecrations of July 1, Coakley was one of a number of US bishops who issued a message for their dioceses warning parishioners against attending the SSPX. In his Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Coakley urged Catholics away from attending Society liturgies, pointing them to instead attending the ceremonies provided by the Fraternity of Saint Peter.

The USCCB president’s speculation about potential changes to Traditionis Custodes is not without support, as a growing number of prelates and commentators have made similar remarks following the SSPX’s consecration ceremony. The former prefect of the DDW, Cardinal Robert Sarah, is among the number of clerics who have publicly called on Pope Leo to return to the situation of Summorum Pontificum, as envisaged by Pope Benedict XVI.

Also speaking in light of Roche’s Tablet interview, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke encouraged attendees of the traditional Mass to "fight for it that it be as available as possible to all the faithful who desire it."

Expanding his comments in conversation with political commentator Michael Knowles, Burke stated that it was important for traditional Mass attendees to inform the hierarchy that they did not reject the validity of the Second Vatican Council. "The most important thing for those who love the traditional Latin Mass is to make known to their bishops – and to the Holy Father most of all – their desire to worship according to this form, and that they’re not calling into question the validity of the Second Vatican Council."

Pope Leo has made a series of appeals for adherence to liturgical rubrics and respect for the approved rites, with the latest such taking place on August 14. However so far he has stayed away from publicly commenting on the topic of the traditional Mass, after declaring himself to be somewhat uninformed on the matter in the summer of 2025. Since then he has met with prominent advocates of the old rite, but has not hinted at any change to Traditionis Custodes nor indeed a return to Summorum Pontificum as many have asked him to do.