Catholic World News : English-speaking writers join in pleas for 1962 Missal

Catholic World News today reports on the document released on Epiphany: English-speaking writers join in pleas for 1962 Missal.

Jan. 8, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A group of English-speaking writers and intellectuals has joined similar groups in France, Italy, and Poland in a statement of support for Pope Benedict’s plans to broaden use of the pre-conciliar liturgy.

In a short 6-paragraph document released on January 6, and entitled “the Epiphany Declaration,” about 40 English-speaking intellectuals indicated their support to the widely expected papal document allowing wider use of the 1962 Missal. The signatories “express our enthusiastic support for any papal initiative” backing the traditional liturgy.

The Epiphany Declaration was organized and circulated by administrators of the New Liturgical Movement web site. The signers include professors, journalists, and authors from the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. The full text can be found on that site.

The document notes that a generation ago, in 1971, another group of prominent intellectuals urged Pope Paul VI to preserve the traditional Latin liturgy, recognizing it as “a spiritual and cultural treasure of inestimable value.”

The Epiphany Declaration observes that a papal initiative allowing greater use of the 1962 Missal would satisfy the “rightful aspirations” of many Catholics, and could also enrich the post-conciliar liturgy. The signatories indicate their belief that the expected document “will positively contribute to the ongoing efforts to implement the liturgical reforms promulgated by the Second Vatican Council.”

[Phil Lawler, the editor of Catholic World News, is one of the signers of the Epiphany Declaration...]