‘Letter from the Americas’ urges Pope Francis to stop Latin Mass bans

Elevation of the chalice at a Traditional Latin Mass. / Credit: Wikimedia JoeJ10/CC BY-SA 4.0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 16, 2024 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

As worries mount over a possible ban against the Traditional Latin Mass, prominent Catholic and non-Catholic artists, activists, and leaders have come together in a letter to urge Pope Francis to refrain from any further restrictions against the extraordinary form of the Mass.

Published on Monday and titled “An Open Letter from the Americas to Pope Francis,” the letter calls the Latin Mass a “magnificent achievement of civilization” and “part of the common cultural heritage of humanity.”

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who vocally supported a similar letter advocating for the Latin Mass published last week in the U.K., has endorsed the letter from the Americas, sharing it on his social media account.

Among the signatories are Dana Gioia, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who organized the letter through the Benedict XVI Institute; Frank La Rocca, composer, “Mass of the Americas”; David Conte, chair and professor of composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; Larry Chapp, theologian and founder of Dorothy Day Workers Farm; Eduardo Verástegui, film producer and actor; Nina Shea, international religious freedom advocate; and Andrew Sullivan, writer and author.  

The authors of the letter respectfully ask that “no further restrictions be placed on the Traditional Latin Mass so that it may be preserved for the good of the Catholic Church and of the world.”

What is the Latin Mass and what is going on? 

The Latin Mass, also known as the Mass offered using the 1962 Roman Missal, was codified following the Council of Trent in the 16th century and is believed to have ancient origins.

Though the Vatican has not issued a comprehensive ban on the Latin liturgy, the Holy See has in recent years significantly restricted its use. In July 2021, Francis issued the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes that placed restrictions on Latin Masses.

The authors acknowledge the sacredness of the novus ordo (post-Vatican II) Mass and are careful to distance themselves from Latin Mass supporters who have been antagonistic toward Francis. The Catholic signees further explicitly pledge their continued “filial loyalty” to the pope.

However, in the letter they strive to make their case: “To deprive the next generation of artists of this source of mystery, beauty, and contemplation of the sacred seems shortsighted,” they argue.

“We come to you with the humility and obedience but also the confidence of children, telling a loving father of our spiritual needs,” the authors wrote. “All of us, believers and nonbelievers alike, recognize that this ancient liturgy, which inspired the work of Palestrina, Bach, and Beethoven and generations of great artists, is a magnificent achievement of civilization and part of the common cultural heritage of humanity. It is medicine for the soul, one antidote to the gross materialism of the postmodern age.”

‘Beauty evangelizes’

In a July 8 commentary piece in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, Cordileone said that the beauty of the Latin Mass is an important part of the Church’s ministry in a “de-Christianized age that is becoming increasingly inhospitable to any traditional sense of religion.”

He pointed to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the importance of reading the signs of the times, saying that “one sign staring at us right now in large block letters is: Beauty evangelizes.” 

“We live in an age when we need to leverage the power of beauty to touch minds, hearts, and souls, for beauty has the quality of an inescapably real experience, one that is not subject to argument … In an age of anxiety and unreason, beauty is thus a largely untapped resource for reaching people, especially young people, with the Gospel message of hope,” Cordileone wrote.

In a statement to CNA, Shea explained her decision to sign the letter, emphasizing that the Latin Mass is “part of our cultural heritage.”

Shea mentioned that one of her most memorable experiences with the Latin Mass was attending a liturgy celebrated by Chinese Cardinal Ignatius Kung shortly after his release from 33 years of communist imprisonment.

“He did not speak English, but we were able to unite in our prayers through our shared ancient liturgical language and in a way that was not unfamiliar to me,” she explained.  

“I don’t often go to Latin Masses, but I have appreciated its beauty and the thought that my ancestors worshipped that way for centuries,” Shea said. “I think we Catholics should learn about and preserve our core ancient traditions passed down through the ages. Nothing is more central to that tradition than liturgical practice.”