Madam, - Yet again the so-called "liberal" Catholic mindset fails to get the whole picture with the pathetic whining from the likes of Dr Gail Crossman Freyne, who says that the Pope's announcement on the Latin Mass is "exceedingly bad" (The Irish Times, July 9th).
She and her likes may speak of the "spirit of Vatican II", but this spirit has actually nothing to do with the third person of the Trinity, but is a creation of their own plans for the church. The fruits of this mentality are clearly evident in the state in which the church finds itself at present.
The Pope has said his decision does not mean a reversal of the council's work, but a recall back to the Mass and its beauty and the worship of God at the most profound and highest level. The corpus of Western music, from Gregorian chant right down to Fauré's Requiem shows us the benefit of this rite, whose origin is lost in the mists of the apostolic church.
The availability of this rite will no doubt aid us in its prime purpose: namely to make us fit for eternal life, where we will learn the true purpose of its existence. - Yours, etc,
Fr JOHN McCALLION CC, Clonoe, Co Tyrone.
Madam, - Pope Benedict's claim that younger Catholics may be attracted to the Latin Mass (The Irish Times, July 9th) shows how out of touch he is. If it's "back to basics" he wants, the Mass should be celebrated as the Last Supper in the Aramaic language. Then maybe younger Catholics would respond to what was the original Mass without the paraphernalia of history obscuring the face of Christ. - Yours, etc,
BRENDAN BUTLER, The Moorings, Malahide, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Your front-page report on Pope Benedict's apostolic letter quotes Dr Gail Crossman Freyne as saying that the language of the Latin Mass is "not inclusive", and that the words of consecration are different to those in the current Roman Missal.
However, both versions of the Mass use the Latin phrase "pro multis", which does not mean "for all". Some vernacular translations of the Latin use an equivalent of "for all", and others use "for many". The Vatican has recently decided that "for many" is the proper translation, and all vernacular translations must be updated to reflect this.
She also claims that Pope's decision goes against the "spirit of Vatican II". I have often heard of this mythical spirit, but no one seems to be able to precisely explain what it means. It cannot mean that we should not use Latin in the Mass, as Vatican II calls for "the use of the Latin language to be preserved in the Latin rites". - Is mise,
LEO TALBOT, Moy Glas Way, Lucan, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Now that the Pope has eased restrictions on the Latin Mass, could the clergy and bishops think about restoring the pulpits and altar rails which were unnecessarily torn from our churches after Vatican II to facilitate the vernacular Mass? Most of these pulpits were of great craftsmanship and design and deserve to be seen again. - Is mise,
PATRICK GARRY, Wainsfort Manor Drive, Terenure, Dublin 6W.