Letter from both Americas - More Intellectuals Support the Roman Rite

Another open letter, this time from the Americas, urges Francis not to impose rumoured new restrictions on the Mass in the Roman Rite. This letter, published on LetterToPopeFrancis.org (15 July), comes two weeks after prominent British figures from the arts, business, and politics made a similar appeal.

The new letter was organised by a former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Michael Dana Goia. He is a poet, literary critic, literary translator, and essayist.

It is co-signed by the political commentator Andrew Sullivan, the Mexican actor Eduardo Verastegui, the theologian Larry Chapp, and a number of other figures from the arts and politics.

They are "Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers" and call it it "short-sighted" to deprive the next generation of this source of mystery, beauty, and contemplation of the sacred:

"All of us, believers and non-believers alike, recognise that this ancient liturgy, which inspired the work of Palestrina, Bach, and Beethoven and generations of great artists, is a magnificent achievement of civilisation and part of the common cultural heritage of humanity."

And, "It is medicine for the soul, an antidote to the gross materialism of the postmodern age."

Supporters of the traditional Latin Mass are of a "calibre" that cannot be understood as a mere refuge from modernity, for some of the most creative minds on our planet are inspired by the Latin Mass—its beauty, its reverence, its mystery.

Most of the signatories "regularly attend the Novus Ordo". The Catholics among them pledge a "filial loyalty" to Pope Francis.

They distance themselves from allegedly "angry and disrespectful voices magnified by social media".

Their demand, "We, the undersigned, 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."

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