The Catholic Register - Readers Speak Out

Written by Guest Contributor,

Longing for Latin

I had to read Brad Sinclair’s letter four times to attempt to understand his anger at the wonderful news that the Pope is encouraging the re-institution of the Tridentine Mass (“Don’t turn back, Aug. 3-10). I just can’t fathom his feelings.

I too am a post-Vatican II Catholic, who is a regular Mass-goer and who spent 11 years as an altar boy in a very formal parish in Toronto. To hear the beautiful Latin prayers and be uplifted by the truly moving music is one of the reasons I remained a firm believer, while many of my peers left the church.

In fact, the 1970s groovy “communal” meal concept of Mass really challenged my faith when I was not able to attend my so called “regressive” parish. It felt, and still feels, less Catholic to me.

I’ve also had the fortune to attend Mass in Mexico, Austria, Hungary, the United States and in French in Quebec. As seems obvious, the fact that I did not share the vernacular of the place I was visiting made me feel awkward and less spiritual than normal.

So why not a simple compromise? Each parish with more than three Sunday Masses should do its utmost to celebrate one in Latin in the Tridentine rite.

That way, Mr. Sinclair can feel comfortable with the Ordinary Rite and those of us who look for a more formal Mass can also be included.

Philip Black
Toronto, Ont.

Church has survived

Philip Schmidt’s July 6-13 letter, “Shame on macho heroes,” highlights the lack of understanding that many have of the history of the Catholic Church. His comment that Dorothy Cummings’ June 1 column, “Soldier of Canada, soldier of Christ,” is “praise for the justification of the church’s complicity in 1,700 years of violence” is an oversimplification bordering on insult to 2,000 years of church history. Putting aside the fact that many of the church’s saints were themselves part of the military of their day, misses the point with respect to the church and the “military lifestyle.”

The Catholic Church has had to survive among powerful kings who sought to usurp her, heresies that sought to poison her, misguided faithful who sought to change her, and among countless thugs, bands, gangs and armies who sought to kill her once and for all. Through all this, just as Christ promised, the church has prevailed and survived with her doctrine — Christ’s doctrine — intact. To boil all that down to a simple “macho” label based upon the current events of the day is to the church a large disservice.

Mario Loreto
Toronto, Ont.

Explanations offered

Some of The Register’s letter writers seem unaware that when the Pope and bishops teach something, they generally explain why. In the case of women and priestly ordination, the Pope and bishops have repeatedly explained that the church is not authorized to ordain women; it is not simply a matter of church law.

For a definitive explanation, search for Ordinatio Sacerdotalis on the Vatican web site, www.vatican.va.

Similarly, in the matter of more widely permitting the use of the missal that predates the Second Vatican council, the Pope explained that his reasons were the pastoral care of those who are deeply attached to that missal, not that he was proposing a return to the missal for the entire church.

John DiMarco
Brampton, Ont.

Three million died

Beneath all the rhetoric regarding Henry Morgentaler and the Order of Canada lies the truth of what abortion is all about. It is a basic biological fact that abortion is the deliberate killing of a baby in her/his mother’s womb. Not only is the baby destroyed but the mother is viciously assaulted at the same time; the memory will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Society has failed to value and protect these babies in the mother’s womb; they can be killed at any time during the nine months of pregnancy with no law to say “stop, this is wrong.” Morgentaler’s legacy will be leading our society to this sad stage where unborn babies can be killed and no one seems to care.

Abortion is a horrendous crime and a horrendous sin. So many are ready to point the finger at others’ sins but they forget that we are all sinners. The sin of abortion makes all other sins pale by comparison.

I have often asked myself the question “What would Canada be like today if we had not allowed, over 30 plus years, more than three million unborn future citizens to be killed in the wombs of their mothers?”

I feel that our country is the worse for it; just perhaps some (aborted babies) whose lives were cut short might have done great things for our country and be eligible for the Order of Canada.

John K. Wilson
Newcastle, Ont.

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