In the New York Times, Kenneth J. Wolfe argues that Benedict XVI’s decision to return to older forms of liturgy is not a throwback, but a sign of a pope in touch with a younger generation of Catholics:
Chanting Latin, wearing antique vestments and distributing communion only on the tongues (rather than into the hands) of kneeling Catholics, Benedict has slowly reversed the innovations of his predecessors. And the Latin Mass is back, at least on a limited basis, in places like Arlington, Va., where one in five parishes offer the old liturgy.
Benedict understands that his younger priests and seminarians—most born after Vatican II—are helping lead a counterrevolution. They value the beauty of the solemn high Mass and its accompanying chant, incense and ceremony. Priests in cassocks and sisters in habits are again common; traditionalist societies like the Institute of Christ the King are expanding.
Read more at the New York Times.