today Times teeth, letter Forty-eight intellectuals, artists, politicians and public figures, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have pleaded with the Holy See to reconsider its rumored ban on the traditional Mass.
The letter is accompanied by an article by Sir James Macmillan, and includes both expected and unexpected names, such as Lord Moore (journalist Charles Moore), who, like Sir James, is patron of the Latin Mass Society, pro-life activist Lord Alton, non-Catholic politicians Michael Gove and Rory Stewart, interior designer Nina Campbell, historians Dame Antonia Fraser and Tom Holland, and many others.
There are striking similarities to the letter published by Times The 6thNumber The date to which today’s letter refers is July 1971. New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa replaces Australian soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Veteran celebrity Bianca Jagger plays the role of novelist and socialite Nancy Mitford. Fraser Nelson, The Spectator, Who will replace William Rees-Mogg? TimesPrincess Michael of Kent surpasses two Catholic peers, the Earls of Oxford and Asquith, who signed in 1971, and Miles FitzAlan Howard, who will be the 17th princess.Number Duke of Norfolk.
The similarities in the arguments of the letters are also striking, but not complete: the 1971 letter emphasizes the cultural value of the Ancient Mass and explicitly distances itself from arguments based on its spiritual value.
“We are not now thinking of the religious or even spiritual experiences of millions of people. The rite in question, with its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired numerous priceless achievements in art; it has produced not only mystical works, but also works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors of all countries and times. It therefore belongs not only to the clergy or formal Christians, but also to universal culture.”
This approach seems reasonable given the ecumenical and cultural scope of the signatories, who include non-Catholics who have engaged with the Catholic liturgy primarily through sacred music composed for it, and through religious art created to adorn Catholic churches.
But there was another reason: the Reformed Mass was to be promulgated in 1969, and the old Mass was to be banned after a two-year transitional period. The period of gradual reform from 1964 onwards had been a period of constant change, experimentation and liturgical abuse. Pope Paul VI had hoped that a definitive new Missal would put an end to the confusion, but by 1971 the confusion had not yet subsided completely. The Pope hoped that things would calm down and that people would become accustomed to the Reformed Mass and increasingly recognise its value.
In these circumstances it was very difficult to make the case that the traditional Mass should be permitted because of its spiritual richness. Proponents of the Reformed Mass would simply reply that Catholics had not yet had time to experience the superior richness of the New Mass.
Instead, three arguments were advanced in favor of the old Mass. First, its sudden disappearance was unnecessarily cruel to elderly Catholics. Second, it was the Mass of the martyrs of England and Wales, 40 of whom had been canonized the previous year. Third, there was an argument from culture.
The argument from culture was highlighted in the 1971 petition, but two other arguments also influenced the Holy See: the permission, or “exception”, for the traditional Mass had been limited to the lands of the Forty Martyrs until 1984, and many bishops assumed that it was for the elderly, despite the fact that this was in contrast to the reality of congregations actually attending Mass.
Today’s petition also makes a cultural argument, but it is much more than that: its signatories, those in the fields of music, art and intellectual life, as well as many non-Catholics, acknowledge that its cultural value is inseparable from its spiritual power.
“[T]”In a world where history is so easily forgotten, destroying it seems an unnecessary and insensitive act. The power of ancient rituals to encourage silence and reflection is a treasure that is not easily replicated and, once lost, impossible to reconstruct.”
Similarly, Sir James Macmillan of the Latin Mass Society press release:
“The signatories of this letter are an amazingly diverse group of people: Catholics, Protestants, Jews, agnostics, atheists, all of whom are convinced that the traditional Latin Mass is a celebration of great beauty, wonder and awe that has profoundly shaped our culture in one way or another for centuries.”
In fact, if I were asked to sign a petition to preserve a historic mosque or Hindu temple, I would gladly do so. spiritual It is significant. Great buildings that have been used for worship for centuries inspire in all sensitive souls who approach them a sense of awe at the presence of the spiritual realm, and the same can be said for the ancient Catholic Mass.
No doubt the 1971 petitioners would have agreed, even if this argument was not politically correct at the time. Kenneth Clark, the great art historian and director of the National Gallery, who also signed the earlier petition, converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. His widow recalled that “whenever he went to church looking for a work of art, he would first kneel and pray.” The art he loved was not cultural first and spiritual second; the two aspects are inseparable.
Today, with six decades of hindsight on liturgical reform, Catholics and non-Catholics alike can agree that the disappearance of the traditional Mass would impoverish the world not only culturally but also spiritually.
Photo: A little girl smiles at her mother before the start of a traditional Latin Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Farmingville, N.Y., July 16, 2012. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
