Yet again rumors about the universal indult for priests to offer the Tridentine Mass are swirling about. The credibility of the rumors again has increased, but it's hard to get excited until something happens.
The best commentary I've seen comes from Father Z. (found via Amy Welborn), who, after listing several reasons that have been thrown aorund for why the Holy Father might grant the indult, does not reject any of them, but suggests a more plausible reason:
I won’t say this is long overdue, though I am really tempted. The time is simply ripe. When and if the document comes, those who are motivated by common sense and charity will make the proper use of it and refrain from whining that it should have been done years ago or that it is not enough or that it is too late, blah blah blah.
Establishing the older form of Mass as an "extraordinary" rite, with a solid footing alongside the Novus Ordo, is the right thing to do.
http://www.stblogs.org/scgi-bin/mv/mt-tb.cgi/20183
