In 2007 Benedict XVI issued the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, lifting restrictions on the celebration of the pre-reform Catholic liturgy. In 2021, Pope Francis overturned his predecessors document, directly aligning himself with the critics of Benedict XVIs decision. Dekerts book disentagles the arguments of representative pro-reform critics of Summorum Pontificum, as well as the documents and discourse surrounding Traditionis Custodes.
Dekert evaluates these arguments in context, assessing the validity of the historical and anthropological claims supporting them, while questioning their underlying assumptions. He also analyzes the connections between the pro-reform discourse of liturgical experts and the Vaticans liturgical policies since 2021. The core theoretical framework of his analysis is Roy A. Rappaports concept of the obvious aspects of ritual, which provides tools for a fresh perspective on the liturgical reform and the potential of Benedict XVIs liturgical option in addressing the ongoing liturgical conflict within contemporary Catholicism. This approach reveals the deeply problematic nature and lack of clarity in the expert discourse and the recent papal liturgical legislation at historical, anthropological, logical, and doctrinal levels.
