World-Famous Composer Continues Fight for Holy Mass
MacMillan, along with many other people from the arts and public life, had already written to The Times on 3 July asking the Vatican to end its recent policy of banning the ancient Traditional Latin Mass from Catholic parishes around the world.
MacMillan, 64, is the son of a simple carpenter. As a young man he was briefly a member of the Young Communist League.
He first came to public attention in 1990 with the premiere of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, a work for large symphony orchestra.
The work's international acclaim led to further high-profile commissions. MacMillan's percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel has become his most performed work.
He was also asked by the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich to compose his Cello Concerto, which Rostropovich premiered in 1997.
MacMillan's Catholic faith has inspired many of his sacred works, including a Magnificat (1999) and several Masses. He and his wife, Lynne Frew, are lay Dominicans, and he has collaborated with Catholic poet Michael Symmons Roberts and Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury.
In his Change.org petition, MacMillan writes that his petition, like the Times letter, is entirely ecumenical and non-political: "Whatever your beliefs, I urge you to sign it as a gesture of support for those Catholics who have found spiritual solace in the ancient Latin Mass and who now - at a time when religious minorities around the world are facing harassment - face the prospect of being forced to deny their own precious heritage."
He asks the public to be respectful in any messages of support, "as this petition in no way challenges the authority of Pope Francis and attacks on him would damage our cause".
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