Although it had been known since early June that the liturgy would not be among the topics of the extraordinary consistory convened by Leo XIV, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline explained how that debate was sidelined during the preliminary process of selecting the issues.
In an interview given to Le Figaro on June 25, the eve of the consistory in Rome, the Archbishop of Marseille and president of the French Episcopal Conference acknowledged that he himself voted in favor of having the liturgical question addressed by the cardinals, but that he was the only one to do so within his working group.
«I voted in favor of the liturgy topic, but I was the only one»
Asked why the question of the liturgy, which had appeared in the first session of January 2026 and seemed to have been postponed, no longer featured on the program of the June consistory, Aveline responded clearly.
«In the last consistory I served as secretary of one of the French-speaking dialogue tables among cardinals. At that table, I voted in favor of the liturgy topic, but I was the only one!», he stated.
The cardinal explained that the other francophone cardinals in his group came from other countries and did not consider the issue a priority. He added that something similar occurred in many other working groups, so the liturgical matter ultimately received the fewest votes.
The agenda was already set
Aveline noted that the meeting, as had already been announced, would be devoted mainly to discussion of Leo XIV’s new encyclical, which he described as a «beautiful and profound» text, as well as to analysis of the international situation and the synodal process.
He also indicated that time would be reserved for open dialogue, though without presenting the liturgical question as a formal item on the agenda.
«It does not mean the question of the liturgy is forgotten»
The president of the French bishops nevertheless wished to clarify that the absence of the topic from the consistory does not mean the question has been dismissed.
«This does not mean the question of the liturgy is forgotten, but that it must be considered among the many priorities of the universal Church», he stated.
He further emphasized that the liturgical debate must be understood within a broader framework related to the life of the Church.
«In a broader sense, it concerns the question of ecclesial communion», he maintained.
France, a laboratory for possible solutions
Aveline’s interview was published on the same day that Leo XIV received the presidency of the French Episcopal Conference in audience. Although the Holy See did not disclose the content of that meeting, the encounter took place at a particularly sensitive moment for the liturgical dossier.
The Pope had previously asked the French bishops to work on pastoral proposals for those still attached to the Vetus Ordo. No concrete progress has yet been made public, but France continues to appear as one of the key settings for testing possible ecclesial responses to this issue.
The fact that the liturgy was not formally debated at the consistory therefore does not close the question. Rather, it confirms that, at least for now, Leo XIV has chosen to keep it out of the cardinalate’s primary focus, while other topics—the encyclical, world peace, and synodality—occupy the center of the agenda.
A postponed debate, not a closed one
Aveline’s explanation helps to interpret what happened more precisely. The liturgy did not disappear from the consistory because of an improvised decision, but because the cardinals themselves did not place it among the immediate priorities.
The underlying question remains open: how to attend to the faithful attached to the traditional liturgy without aggravating internal tensions or pushing them toward positions of rupture.