(LifeSiteNews) — A leading Catholic commentator and former politician in the U.K. has praised Pope Leo XIV for being one who “believes in the papal office,” adding his hope that Leo will be supportive of the Latin Mass.

Writing his regular diary in The Spectator, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg gave brief commentary on newly elected Pope Leo XIV and his personal hopes for the Pontiff’s relationship with the traditional Mass.

“It is reassuring to have a Pope who believes in the papal office and, with luck, the traditional liturgies will no longer be persecuted,” he wrote. “The hatred for the Latin Mass is a peculiarity of a few ageing liberals. Fortunately, young Catholics, including my nephew David who is a seminarian, are flocking to the Old Rite.”

Rees-Mogg served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 2010 through 2024, holding a number of prominent positions, including as a government minister under two prime ministers: Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

He lost his seat in the 2024 election which saw the opposition Labour Party come into power.

In a previous diary entry for The Spectator last July, Rees-Mogg also critiqued the Latin Mass restrictions imposed on the Church by Pope Francis and Cardinal Arthur Roche. Commenting on how he had to travel to Florence to access Confirmations in the traditional rite, Rees-Mogg said “the Latin Mass is under heavy attack.”

“It is apparently all the work of Cardinal Roche, a Yorkshire cleric who clearly has a chip on his shoulder,” he suggested. “Possibly he failed his Latin O-level, as it is hard to explain his hostility otherwise.”

The topic of the traditional Mass, or Latin Mass, has remained front and center in the years since 2021. On July 16 of that year, Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes, which ushered in sweeping restrictions on the traditional Mass, and which were subsequently bolstered with further measures by Roche.

A high degree of speculation has arisen since the election of Pope Leo XIV as to his reaction to his predecessors liturgical restrictions, with new impositions on Latin Mass centers continuing to be enacted in recent weeks even after his election.

Last month, Cardinal Raymond Burke revealed that he has already spoken to the Pope about the traditional Mass, though did not comment on what the conversation involved. However, the American cardinal was hopeful of a lifting of the restrictions:

It is my hope that he will – as soon as it is possible – take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was after Summorum Pontificum and even to develop what Pope Benedict XVI had so wisely and lovingly legislated for the Church.

Rumors had swirled online shortly after the papal election suggesting that Leo himself had offered the traditional Mass as a cardinal; however, no firm evidence has been forthcoming on the subject, and contradictory rumors have also surfaced suggesting he was opposed to the Latin Mass.

Praising Leo’s liturgical commentary, theologian and liturgist Dr. Peter Kwasniewski told LifeSiteNews that Leo “shows that he is sensitive to the language of symbolism and beauty, and especially to the normative value of tradition.”

Rees-Mogg’s commentary on the liturgy will not take his readers by surprise, since he is well known for his Catholicity, his public criticism of abortion, and his devotion to the traditional Mass. Speaking on a podcast in 2018, he described the traditional Mass as being “richer” than the Novus Ordo Mass, which was implemented in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council.

The traditional rite “focusses more centrally on the Eucharist,” he added. Indeed the former politician’s attention to the old rite is not without provenance: his father was one of the signatories of the 1971 petition to the Vatican in defense of the traditional Mass.

However, while still an MP – and Leader of the House of Commons under Prime Minister Boris Johnson – the politician garnered criticism for his November 2020 vote to put the United Kingdom back under strict COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, which included prohibiting public Masses.

Under the terms of the legislation which he voted for, a £10,000 fine ($12,800 at the time) could be levied against those found disobeying the law and organizing public worship.

Since losing his seat as an MP, Rees-Mogg has continued to present a show for TV network GB News, and received a knighthood after being named in Boris Johnson’s 2022 resignation honors list.