The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, has welcomed the Pope's decision to remove restrictions on the Latin Tridentine Mass.

The announcement came in a motu proprio - similar to a papal decree - from Pope Benedict XVI over the weekend, setting out the norms for celebrating the Eucharist and clarifying the celebration of Mass in Latin according to the 1962 Roman Missal.

"On behalf of the Bishops of England and Wales I welcome the Holy Father's call for unity within the Church and especially towards those who are very attached to celebrating the Mass according to the Missal of 1962," said Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor.

"We foresee little difficulty in receiving and carrying out the Pope's teaching about the two forms of the celebration of the Eucharist."

Bishops in the Catholic Church in Scotland added their support to the motu proprio, saying that the Pope had issued it "motivated above all by his desire to mend divisions where they have occurred and to prevent future divisions by helping to bring about 'an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church'".

The bishops said in a statement today: "Echoing what the Holy Father says, the bishops wish to point out that there is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal (1962 and 1970) and that they in fact demonstrate that in the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress but no rupture."

The Scottish Latin Mass society Una Voce Scotland, meanwhile, welcomed the Pope's motu proprio as "wise" and "timely".