ROME — Public figures continue to appeal for an easing up on Pope Francis’ harsh campaign against the traditional Latin Mass.
This week, a diverse range of artists and experts Published In an “Open Letter from the Americas to Pope Francis,” they implore him “not to deprive future generations of artists of a source of contemplation of mystery, beauty and the sacred.”
“All of us, believers and non-believers, recognize that this ancient liturgy, which inspired the works of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven and generations of other great artists, is a great achievement of civilization and part of the common cultural heritage of humanity,” they said.
“It is medicine for the soul, an antidote to the crude materialism of the postmodern age,” the letter adds.
Signatories include former National Endowment for the Arts chair Dana Gioia, actor Eduardo Verastegui, author Andrew Sullivan, religious freedom advocate Nina See, Knights of St. Francis international director Angela Alioto, Grammy Award winner Blanton Alspaugh and Dorothy Day Workers Farm founder Larry Chap.
The letter comes after a group of more than 40 British cultural and political leaders published a similar document this month calling on the Vatican to impose a widespread and sustained ban on the traditional Latin Mass. rumor Further restrictions on TLM are coming into force.
Pope Francis cracked down on conservative Catholics on Friday, reversing sweeping measures by his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, and imposing new restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass. https://t.co/akkTNVCytZ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 17, 2021
“Alarming reports from Rome” that Pope Francis may abolish the Latin Mass altogether “is a distressing and confusing prospect, especially for the growing number of young Catholics who have been nurtured in their faith by the Latin Mass,” the letter from Britain said.
“Not everyone understands its value, and that’s OK,” the statement said, “but to destroy it seems an unnecessary and insensitive act in a world where history is all too easily forgotten.”
Pope Francis has made no secret of his disdain for the Latin Mass, reversing steps taken by his predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, to make the TLM more accessible to those who wish to attend.
In 2021, Francis published an apostolic letter. letter title Traditionis Custodes (“Guardian of Tradition”) In it, he banned the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass in Catholic parishes and eliminated existing accommodations for priests who wished to use the extraordinary forms of the Catholic liturgy.
Francis has repeatedly called those who favor traditional liturgical forms “backward.”
In contrast, John Paul II strongly encouraged the continued use of Latin within the Church in order to maintain a connection with its own history and traditions.
“The Church of Rome has a special obligation to Latin, the great language of ancient Rome,” he says. I have written“You have to express that whenever you get the opportunity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI said the following about the TLM:
What was considered sacred by our predecessors is also sacred and great for us and cannot suddenly be completely forbidden or considered harmful. It is the duty of all of us to protect and give to it the place it deserves the richness that has been nurtured in the faith and prayer of the Church.
