''Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo'' ''Missae'' (Italian: ''Breve Esame Critico del Novus Ordo Missae''), nicknamed the Ottaviani Intervention, is a 1969 document written by some

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

addressed to

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

to criticise what those theologians perceived as problems in the

Mass of Paul VI The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or , is the most commonly used Catholic liturgy, liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and its liturgical books were p ...

—also called "''Novus Ordo Missae''"—which had been

promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law i ...

earlier the same year. The surname of the document comes from one of its writers,

Alfredo Ottaviani Alfredo Ottaviani (29 October 1890 – 3 August 1979) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII named him cardinal in 1953. He served as secretary of the Holy Office in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1966 when that dicastery ...

History

Cardinals

and

Antonio Bacci Antonio Bacci (4 September 1885 – 20 January 1971) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of Briefs to Princes from 1931 to 1960, when he was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John XXIII. He is perh ...

sent the ''Short Critical Study'' to

with a cover letter dated 25 September 1969. The study cast doubt on the

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

of the

, which had been

by the

apostolic constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

''Missale Romanum'' of 3 April 1969, though the definitive text, which took account of some of the criticisms of the ''Short Critical Study'', had not yet appeared.

Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers (25 October 1898 – 27 February 1988) was a French Dominican theologian who was illicitly made a bishop by Ngo Dinh Thuc and consequently excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He embraced ideas such as se ...

is said to be the main intellectual force behind the study. Pope Paul VI asked the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

, the department of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

that Ottaviani had earlier headed, to examine the Short Critical Study. It responded on 12 November 1969 that the document contained many affirmations that were "superficial, exaggerated, inexact, emotional and false". A letter of 17 February 1970 signed by Ottaviani and addressed to Gerard Lafond, was published by '. It stated: The letter also expressed regret on the part of the cardinal that his letter of 25 September 1969 had been published:

Jean Madiran Jean Arfel (14 June 1920 – 31 July 2013), better known by his pen name Jean Madiran (), was a French right-wing editor, journalist and a traditionalist Catholic writer who was born in Libourne. He has also used the pen name Jean-Louis Lagor. ...

, a traditionalist Catholic who was the founder-director of the review ''Itinéraires'', which was condemned by the French episcopate in 1966, maintained that ''Itinéraires'' had received the cardinal's authorization to publish his letter to the Pope and suggested that Ottaviani had signed the letter to Dom Gerard-Marie Lafond without knowing its contents, since Ottaviani was blind.Christophe Geffroy and Philippe Maxence, Enquête sur la messe traditionnelle (with preface by Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler)
p. 22. This letter to Dom Lafond praised and approved a previous statement that Lafond published, ''Note Doctrinale sur le nouvel Ordo Missae'', a Note which had claimed that the Cardinal Ottaviani himself had authored the parts of the new Missal which the Ottaviani Intervention criticized. Jean Madiran claimed that this letter was fraudulently presented to the elderly cardinal for his signature by Ottavinai's secretary, Monsignor (and future Cardinal)

Gilberto Agustoni Gilberto Agustoni (26 July 1922 – 13 January 2017) was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia from 1950 to 1998, ending his career as head of the Apostolic Signatura from 1992 to 1998. He became a cardinal in 19 ...

, and that Agustoni resigned shortly afterwards. This allegation remains unproven, and Madiran himself was not an eyewitness of the alleged deception.

Notes

References

External links

Text of the document in Englishalso on EWTN
{{SSPX 1969 documents Catholic liturgy