Pope Francis had severely restricted this service, which the priest celebrates in Latin and with his back to the church people, among other things.
In his autobiography "Hoffe", published on Tuesday, he justifies this controversial decision by saying that it is not beneficial for the liturgy to become a question of ideology.
"It is curious, this fascination with the incomprehensible, with the mysterious sound that often arouses the interest of the younger generations," said the Pope. "And this rigid attitude usually goes hand in hand with expensive, costly vestments, with embroidery, lace and stoles." This is not a joy in tradition, but a naked display of clericalism, not a return to the sacred, but sectarian modernity, criticised Francis.
Affective disorders and behavioural problems
"Sometimes these costumes conceal serious imbalances, affective disorders, behavioural problems or a personal malaise that can be instrumentalised," writes the Pope.
According to his own statement, he has had to deal with this problem in four cases during his term of office to date - three of them in Italy and one in Paraguay.
These were always dioceses that had accepted candidates for the priesthood who had already been rejected by other seminaries.
"There is usually something wrong with these candidates, something that drives them to hide their personality behind rigid and sectarian concepts," warns the Pope.
He describes the resistance within the Church to the opening of the sacraments to remarried divorcees and the blessing of homosexuals as "hypocrisy".
"Traditionalism, the insistence on 'backwardness' that reappears in every century, is a sociologically interesting phenomenon, as it always refers to a supposedly perfect time, which is different every time," writes the 88-year-old.