Get ready for a flood of probably rather imprecise newspaper stories on the "Latin" Mass. Judging from the paper I saw the other day, it's already started. Don't assume that the reporters or editors know more about the Mass or about the Pope's intentions than you do.
On a sort-of-related strand, to try to go along with what Pope Benedict is trying to accomplish, I try not to describe things in terms of the "old" vs. the "new" Mass, or the "Tridentine" vs. the "Novus Ordo," or the "Latin" Mass vs... (well, since the current Missal is Latin, though you wouldn't know it). None of these are the real or official names, and they tend to perpetuate the "discontinuity" mindset that the Pope says is an incorrect understanding of the Council. So if I mean the Roman Rite Mass according to the 1962 Missal, or some other Missal I'll say that, and if I mean the Roman Rite Mass according to the 1970 Missal, I'll say that.
If the article I saw (well, got to glance at) in the Baltimore Sun is any indication, the reporters will use the standard "opposing viewpoints" format. One viewpoint will be represented by the people they interview who think that there is an essential difference between the "old" Mass and the "new" and love it; the other will be those who think the same and hate it. The question is how long it will be before they figure out what is going on.
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