Overview

• The leaked files consist of a five-page assessment and seven pages of bishops’ survey quotes showing most respondents supported the pre-Vatican II liturgy and warned that curtailing it would “do more harm than good.”
• Reporter Diane Montagna published the documents online on July 2, drawing attention to a disconnect between survey findings and Pope Francis’s 2021 limits on the Latin Mass.
• Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni and the doctrine office have neither confirmed the leak’s authenticity nor clarified the context of the survey data.
• Traditionalist advocates led by Joseph Shaw argue the leak proves Francis restricted the liturgy based on a minority view and are pressing Pope Leo XIV for expanded exemptions.
• If the documents are validated, they may force Pope Leo XIV to reconcile internal divisions by revisiting access to the Traditional Latin Mass.