The Archbishop of San Francisco, Monsignor Salvatore Cordileone,
supports the two letters for the Mass in the Roman Rite from
intellectuals in Britain (3 July) and the Americas (15 July).
Speaking
to PillarCatholic.com, Cordileone rejects the "stereotype" that "lovers
of the Latin Mass are rigid and backward". His argument is that there
are "so many great creatives" among them.
"Rather than rigid, some of the most creative Catholic minds are those drawn to the Latin Mass."
Archbishop
Cordileone recalls that Francis has called for a listening Church:
"These petition signers speak to Pope Francis with great humility and in
a spirit of obedience, and with the kind of confidence that children
have when they go to a loving father, in order to speak of their
spiritual needs."
Monsignor Cordileone sees the Roman Rite as an
instrument of evangelisation: "The traditional Latin Mass is a tool that
works for some people; not the only one, but it works for some."
Asked
about Archbishop Viganò and Spanish sedevacantist nuns, who have
declared their separation from Francis' Vatican in recent weeks,
Cordileone refers to the internet: "Social media rewards and magnifies
the most extreme and disrespectful voices."
He wants to amplify
"the voices of those who, as in this petition, are faithful Catholics,
declare their loyalty to the pope, and at the same time ask that no
further restrictions be placed on their access to a form that feeds them
spiritually”.
Further, Archbishop Cordileone suggests some
introspection: "Why do some lovers of the Latin Mass show such rigid
behaviour? Many, I know, have experienced rejection and marginalisation
by the Church’s pastors - the very ones called to nurture them
spiritually - simply because of their desire to worship in the way the
Church has done for many centuries."
In his own experience, "Latin Massgoers are good Catholics and faithful to the Catholic Church".
And,
"They aren't heretics or schismatics as a general rule. Some of the
strongest Catholics I know, who serve the poor and their parish, love
the Latin Mass."
Picture: Salvatore Cordileone, © EWTN/YouTube