At Pope Leo XIV’s first consistory, cardinals favor evangelization and synodality over liturgy—disappointing traditional Catholics hoping for a shift.
Newsroom (08/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) At the Vatican this week, the tone was set early. Beneath the Renaissance frescoes and the murmuring cadence of translation headsets, Pope Leo XIV welcomed more than 170 cardinals to his first extraordinary consistory — a moment many saw as symbolic of the direction his young papacy might take.
There was anticipation in the air among those who still feel the aftershocks of Pope Francis’ restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass. Would this new pontificate reopen the conversation on liturgy, that longstanding barometer of Catholic identity and unity? Or would Leo’s Vatican continue along the well-trodden path of synods, curial reforms, and renewed missionary zeal?
Within hours, the answer became clear.
Evangelization and Synodality Win the Vote
In his opening address, Leo XIV laid out four major themes for reflection: Evangelii Gaudium and the Church’s mission in the modern world, Praedicate Evangelium and its reform of the Roman Curia, the Synod and synodality as a mode of cooperation, and the liturgy — “the source and summit of the Christian life.”
Then came the caveat. “Due to time constraints,” the Pope explained, “only two of them will be discussed specifically.”
The choice was left to the cardinals. After several rounds of small-group deliberations, the Vatican’s Matteo Bruni announced that a “large majority” had voted to focus on evangelization and synodality. The liturgy — that hot, eternal flame of Church debate — would have to wait.
The groups themselves reflected the Church’s global diversity: 11 meeting in Rome with curial figures and retired cardinals, and nine drawn from dioceses across continents — bishops, nuncios, and under-80 electors who still vote in conclaves. Pope Leo, according to Bruni, had a particular wish to hear from this latter block. “It is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome,” he admitted.
Each group had just three minutes to present its conclusions. In the end, those minutes reshaped the tone of the entire assembly.
Disappointment Among Traditionalists
For many Catholics devoted to the older Roman rite, the result felt like déjà vu. Liturgical issues have rarely found a home in recent high-level Church gatherings, especially since the sweeping limits Francis placed on the traditional Mass.
The decision not to prioritize the liturgy struck some as another sign that their concerns remain peripheral — or worse, inconvenient. The Italian traditionalist outlet Messa in Latino reported that several cardinals, speaking anonymously, were “discouraged and disappointed” by the vote.
Its editor, Luigi Casalini, went further in comments to the Register. “To whom did the Pope delegate this choice,” he asked, “and according to what criteria were these cardinals of the nine local churches selected in order to remove—in effect—two topics?” Casalini expressed frustration that “cardinals sensitive to the issue” had not mobilized earlier to ensure the liturgy would stay on the agenda.
“This consistory,” he said, “appears to be in perfect continuity with the Synods and the thought of Francis.” For traditional Catholics, that continuity may feel like a missed opportunity.
Vatican Officials Offer Reassurance
At the evening press briefing, Bruni attempted to cool the speculation. “The other two themes will still be addressed in some way, because mission does not exclude the liturgy,” he said. “On the contrary, in many ways it does not mean exclusion. It means that they will still be addressed within the others or in some other way.”
To Bruni — and according to the Pope’s own words — evangelization and liturgy need not stand apart. “In mission and evangelization there is liturgy,” Leo XIV emphasized in his remarks.
Still, for many watching from the sidelines — especially those who hoped Leo might pivot toward liturgical reconciliation — the symbolic sidelining felt hard to ignore.
The Unanswered Question
As the second day of open discussion begins, all eyes return to whether the liturgy might resurface “in some other way,” as Bruni hinted. Casalini, for his part, vowed to watch closely “whether the topic of the liturgy will be taken up again.”
In the Vatican, the smallest procedural choices can bear heavy theological weight. For now, Pope Leo XIV’s first consistory has sent a familiar message: the Church’s missionary heart beats loud — but its liturgical soul will have to wait its turn.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from National Catholic Register
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