Bishop David Waller denies claims Cardinal Roche ordered concelebration in ordinariates, clarifying liturgical norms and practices.
Newsroom (24/04/2026 Gaudium Press) Reports circulating on traditionalist websites on April 23 alleging Vatican intervention in ordinariate liturgical practice have been firmly denied by Bishop David Waller, head of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in the United Kingdom.
The reports claimed that Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Vatican’s liturgical and sacramental office, had ordered ordinariate priests to concelebrate Mass and instructed that priests should no longer function as deacons or subdeacons within ordinariate liturgies. The allegations quickly drew attention among communities already sensitive to questions surrounding liturgical identity and post-Vatican II practice.
However, Waller told The Pillar on Thursday that there had been “no pressure, no bullying, and no change to rubrics” from either Cardinal Roche or the Vatican. He emphasized that no priest could be compelled to concelebrate Mass, reaffirming a principle embedded in broader Church law.
Addressing one of the specific claims, Waller clarified that priests assuming liturgical roles as deacons or subdeacons is “not permissible” under existing norms. He added that this issue was largely irrelevant in the U.K. context, describing it as “not an issue” within his ordinariate.
The bishop also rejected assertions that discussions with Cardinal Roche had taken place during a March visit to Rome. According to Waller, no such meeting occurred. The visit did include an audience with Pope Leo XIV and meetings with officials from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the body responsible for overseeing the world’s three personal ordinariates.
Those ordinariates—established following Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus—were created to allow groups of former Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual heritage. The first, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, was established in 2011, followed by the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter in North America in 2012 and the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross for Australia and Asia.
Central to their identity is the use of Divine Worship: The Missal, approved by the Vatican in 2015. Drawing on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, this liturgical text reflects a synthesis of Anglican patrimony and Catholic doctrine. Anglicanorum coetibus explicitly grants ordinariates the faculty to celebrate Mass according to these approved liturgical books.
Waller noted that during the March visit, he and fellow ordinariate leaders—Bishop Steven Lopes and Archbishop Anthony Randazzo—did discuss liturgical matters. Their conclusion, he said, was straightforward: “Divine Worship must be celebrated according to its rubrics.”
Those rubrics include the text of the rite itself, the rubrical directory printed in the missal, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, and the Ceremonial of Bishops. Waller cautioned against a tendency, observed in some places though rarely in the U.K., to incorporate elements from other rites.
“Any rite is words and rubrics, and it is a liturgical abuse to mix and matSet featured imagech,” he said, offering as an example the improper combination of ordinariate texts with manual gestures from the older form of the Roman Rite.
The question of concelebration remains a broader point of tension within the Church. Following the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), concelebration became widespread in the Roman Rite, promoted by supporters as a restoration of ancient practice. Critics, however, have argued it represents a departure from tradition.
This debate has extended into communities with strong attachments to older liturgical forms. Some members of traditionalist institutes have declined to concelebrate at diocesan Chrism Masses, viewing the practice as incompatible with their commitments. Others interpret such refusals as a sign of disunity with local bishops and resistance to post-conciliar reforms.
Within the ordinariates, concelebration is both “permitted and encouraged,” Waller said, but remains optional. “Any priest has the right to celebrate individually,” he stressed. “That’s law, not just for the ordinariate.”
Following the March meetings, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document affirming the mission of the ordinariates. It described them as embodying “a living sense of tradition” that remains faithful to what has been received while allowing for organic development. The text also highlighted their role in fostering a pastoral culture where “divine worship and daily life are profoundly interconnected.”
Meanwhile, Peter Kwasniewski, author of the original April 23 report, acknowledged Waller’s denial of any meeting with Cardinal Roche. He suggested that his source may have referred instead to a meeting between Bishop Steven Lopes and Roche, possibly reflecting concerns centered on more traditionally-minded members of the ordinariate in the United States.
Despite the circulation of the initial claims, Waller’s account underscores continuity rather than conflict: adherence to established rubrics, freedom regarding concelebration, and a reaffirmation of the ordinariates’ distinctive liturgical identity within the Catholic Church.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
Related Images:
