Today is the third anniversary of Traditionis Custodes. The rumor that an even harsher and more pastorally harmful set of restrictions would further mar the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has proved to be baseless, but the rumors continue to circulate that such restrictions may nevertheless still be in the works. (I note that the most credible sources reporting on this, the blog Rorate Caeli and the Rome-based journalist Diane Montagna, have said nothing about any specific date.) So of course, it is imperative to continually pray that God avert such a calamity from His Church.
There have been quite a few things worth noting of late regarding TC. First of these is the issuance of a new “Agatha Christie” letter, published in the Times of London on July 3rd. Among the signatories who would be most likely known to our predominantly American readership are Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, novelist Antonia Fraser, historian Tom Holland (not Spiderman), writer A.N. Wilson, actress Bianca Jagger (the former wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger), composer Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa. The second paragraph is particular well stated:
“Recently there have been worrying reports from Rome that the Latin Mass is to be banished from nearly every Catholic church. This is a painful and confusing prospect, especially for the growing number of young Catholics whose faith has been nurtured by it. The traditional liturgy is a “cathedral” of text and gesture, developing as those venerable buildings did over many centuries. Not everyone appreciates its value and that is fine; but to destroy it seems an unnecessary and insensitive act in a world where history can all too easily slip away forgotten. The old rite’s ability to encourage silence and contemplation is a treasure not easily replicated, and, when gone, impossible to reconstruct. This appeal, like its predecessor, is “entirely ecumenical and non-political”. The signatories include Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers. We implore the Holy See to reconsider any further restriction of access to this magnificent spiritual and cultural heritage.”
Subsequently, one of the signatories, the Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan, has launched a petition for the preservation of the Latin Mass, which has already reached well over 12,000 signatures. I urge all of our readers to add their own signature, and share it with others, perhaps repeating the paragraph cited above as a way of encouraging them.
Rorate has also just today published the news that Juan Cardinal Sandoval Iñíguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Guadalajara, Mexico, has issued his own personal appeal to the Pope directly that the traditional Latin Mass not be further restricted. His Eminence writes as follows, repeating the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI:
“It cannot be wrong what the Church has celebrated for four centuries, the Mass of Saint Pius V in Latin, with a rich and devout liturgy that naturally invites one to penetrate into the Mystery of God. Several individuals and groups, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have expressed the desire for it not to be suppressed but preserved, because of the richness of its liturgy and in Latin, which alongside Greek, forms the foundation of not only Western culture but also other parts. Pope Francis, do not allow this to happen. You are also the guardian of the historical, cultural, and liturgical richness of the Church of Christ.”
Another item of interest has also come up today. One of the writers of National Review, Michael Brendon Dougherty, stated in a recent column, “Pope Benedict’s argument for granting liberty to Catholics to attend the TLM is true, and comports with the deep truths of the faith. Pope Francis, in banning it, advanced a sociological argument that was untrue at the time he made it and proved more untrue in implementation.” This was always obviously the case, and recently, two sociologists have set out to document the pertinent facts. In a post titled Data and the Traditional Latin Mass, published on on a Substack called What We Need Now, authors Stephen Cranney and Stephen Bullivant have set out their preliminary finding about the attitudes of those who attend the Latin Mass, particularly towards the Second Vatican Council and the authority of the Pope, “striving to remedy the lack of transparent, systematically collected, objective data on the TLM community.” What they have discovered, not at all surprisingly, is that the grave accusations of schism so casually made against the TLM community are largely unfounded, as so many good bishops already know perfectly well.
The authors write in conclusion, “What we need now is a serious scientific examination of who TLM Mass-goers are, what they believe, and how a suppression of their preferred form of worship will impact them and the Church more generally. This is a case where sociology and its scientific methods can help the Church make decisions based on facts rather than just impressions or anecdotes. God willing, she will make use of them.”
Oremus.
