Question
Are there church documents that prohibit saying the rosary during the Mass? Why can't we pray the rosary during Mass?
--Ruckus in Rochester
Answer
Marialis cultus, "On Rightly Grounding and Increasing Marian Devotion," published 2 February 1974, in paragraph 48 says that the rosary leads to the liturgy:
to recite the rosary during a liturgical service, however, is a misguided practice, which unfortunately still prevails in some places.
The Mass needs to have it's words recited and prayed well, and not, "Our Lady's psalter", which is another term for the rosary. The rosary was developed so that people could pray the psalms, the psalter for the Liturgy of the Hours. Those who were unable to memorize all 150 psalms memorized the rosary prayers. The prayers and scriptures of the Mass are quite important and need their full, active and conscious attention. This is why we do not do the rosary and Mass together. We do not do other devotional practices during the Mass because it is a communal prayer/action which needs all of our focus.
The rosary was said by many during the "pre-Vatican 2 liturgy" since they did want to "do something" and were not able to follow the Mass. Now we "do" the Mass together as an act of praising, blessing and worshiping our God.