The Latin Mass Society of New Zealand
This excellent article is from the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter’s publication Memento. If you would like to support the Memento write to:
The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, 450 Venard Road, South Arlington Twp, PA18411 or go online to: fssp.com/memento
Pa Meuli Piriti Inati
Author: Diane Joan Taylor
Written by Diane Taylor, former National Secretary of the Latin Mass Society of New Zealand, this book is a partial account of the life of an extraordinary New Zealand Priest who, like the first Catholic Bishop of New Zealand (Bishop Pompallier), was a man loved through the generations. Fr. Meuli was beloved by many, young and old alike. He was a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand before he came a Catholic priest and Rotal Advocate. His humility caused him to become a Parish Priest in an outlying area of Auckland, Titirangi (which is Maori for “fringe of heaven”). Here he established a Traditional Mass Centre and pursued theological research.
A moving human drama is unfolded in the book regarding Fr. Meuli’s struggles for what is now called the Extraordinary Form of Mass. It begins with the end of his lustrous career, as he is now in his ninety-first year and in frail health. The story concludes with reported suggestions concerning the possibility of Fr. Meuli ‘s canonization at a future date. The book has 106 pages and includes pictures.
To purchase use discount code DJT24 at the Nile checkout and receive a 20% discount
Una Voce Bulletin, No. 7: No new restrictions so far, but petitions in support of the TLM
16th July passes, no document emerges From the President: no new restrictions so far, but several petitions in support of the TLM. The supposedly fateful date of 16th July has come, and, unlike the Ides of March for Julius Caesar, it has gone, without incident. This was the date specified in one version of the rumour predicting new restrictions on the Traditional Mass.
As far as I know none of the rumours that went into any detail suggested that there would be a complete ban. Rather, the idea seems to have been that restrictions would be tightened on the celebration of the Traditional Mass in parish churches, or by diocesan priests. These have been the focus of previous documents, and it would be surprising if proposals along these lines were not being discussed in the Holy See. It remains to be seen if any such new document will see the light of day.
Apart from the reality that nothing normally happens in Rome in the month of August, we are no further forward in relation to these rumours than before, except in one respect: the date of 16th July stimulated a whole series of appeals to the Holy See not to take this step.
Last year I published a book on past petitions, such as the one in 1971 which apparently stimulated the English Indult the same year, which was the first opening for the licit celebration of the Traditional Mass for the benefit of the Faithful—that is, not just in private by infirm priests. It is always difficult to know if an intervention of this kind has made a difference, but perhaps it did in 1971, and it may be playing a role today.
The impression given by the petitions from Britain, America, and Mexico, is that if you ask prominent lay Catholics, and non-Catholics who take an interest in these things, what they think about the Traditional Mass, if they think about it at all, they view it in a positive way. They know it is culturally significant, a great work of art, and they probably know that it has been spiritually significant for people they know—perhaps even for themselves. They find the idea that it must be restricted to safeguard the unity of the Church baffling.
Comment
This is not surprising, but these petitions make the issue very clear. Those who are pushing for more restrictions on the Traditional Mass in Rome are not indifferent to the views of film-makers, politicians, millionaires, artists, and musicians. The Church’s apostolic work depends on their good will, and prelates meet them constantly in different contexts: when raising money, organising events, restoring churches, and so on. Prelates’ feeling that their rank makes them part of an international elite is one of the few temporal perks of the role. Sometimes, mixing with these sorts of people may tempt them to play down the hard sayings of the Gospel. On this occasion, the elite is pushing them in a much more positive direction.
The danger that there will be new restrictions on the ancient Mass has not necessarily passed. Please maintain your prayers and offerings for this intention. Indeed, it is not enough not to have more bad documents. The current legal regime is causing unnecessary suffering and division, and we will need a new document at some point to make a positive change. I have complete confidence that common sense will prevail in the longer term, but it is impossible to know what difficulties will have to be overcome first.
A young Catholic at the doorway of the Birmingham Oratory, during Mass for SS Peter & Paul celebrated in association with the Latin Mass Society’s Annual General Meeting. |
Briefing from the Chairman 9 (madmimi.com)
LMS Patrons lead a joint letter to save the Traditional Mass
PRESS RELEASE – Latin Mass Society Patrons lead a joint letter to save the Traditional Mass
The Latin Mass Society welcomes the intervention of 48 prominent figures of culture, academia, and politics, including Catholics and non-Catholics, in a letter to The Times published today, in support of the Traditional Mass.
The letter appeals to the value of the ancient Mass both as a cultural artefact—‘a cathedral of text and gesture’—and an irreplaceable spiritual treasure, with a unique ability to ‘encourage silence and contemplation’.
It was organised by Sir James MacMillan, a Patron of the Latin Mass Society, whose article accompanies the letter in The Times, and is signed by another Patron, Lord Moore of Etchingham (Charles Moore).
Sir James MacMillan comments:
The people who have signed this letter are an impressively mixed bunch! Catholics, Protestants, Jews, agnostics, atheists – all convinced that the Traditional Latin Mass is a thing of great beauty, wonder and awe, and a profound shaper of our culture, one way or another over the centuries. I stand with them in my appreciation of the form – ‘a cathedral of text and gesture’, which has given rise to great music and poetry through the ages. But it is as an observant and loyally practising Catholic that I wrote my cover article for The Times. If Rome were to do what is rumoured, it would be grossly unjust and make an utter mockery of ‘synodality’. And many observers outside the Church, in these difficult days of ideological and political tension, see this now as an issue of religious freedom. It is surely a mark of diversity, inclusion and equity that the Church can celebrate different rites – the Old Dominican rite, the liturgy of the Ordinariate, the rites of our eastern co-religionists, the Novus Ordo and, God willing, the Traditional Latin Mass.
Today’s letter references the petition of 1971, signed by 105 intellectuals, musicians, politicians, and cultural figures, which prompted Pope Paul VI to allow the continued celebration of the Traditional Mass. This permission applied at first only to England and Wales, but it was extended to the whole world in 1984. This permission is threatened today.
The 1971 petition was signed by many of the most prominent cultural figures of the day: not only Agatha Christie, but the Controller of Radio 3, the Director of the National Gallery, a former Director of Music at Westminster Cathedral, two Anglican bishops, the philosopher Iris Murdoch, the sculptress Barbara Hepworth, the soprano Joan Sutherland, the novelist Robert Graves, and many others. An earlier petition, in 1966, had been signed by Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden; a later petition, in 2007, was signed by Franco Zeffirelli and René Girard.
The strong support for the Traditional Mass by non-Catholic cultural figures derives from its place in world culture. As the 1971 petition expressed it:
The rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired a host of priceless achievements in the arts— not only mystical works, but works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs. Thus, it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians.
Full text of the Letter, with signatories
Latin Mass at risk
Sir,
On July 6, 1971, The Times printed an appeal to Pope Paul VI in defence of the Latin Mass signed by Catholic and non-Catholic artists and writers, including Agatha Christie, Graham Greene and Yehudi Menuhin. This became known as the “Agatha Christie letter”, because it was reportedly her name that prompted the Pope to issue an indult, or permission, for celebration of the Latin Mass in England and Wales. The letter argued that “the rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired priceless achievements … by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs. Thus, it belongs to universal culture.”
Recently there have been worrying reports from Rome that the Latin Mass is to be banished from nearly every Catholic church. This is a painful and confusing prospect, especially for the growing number of young Catholics whose faith has been nurtured by it. The traditional liturgy is a “cathedral” of text and gesture, developing as those venerable buildings did over many centuries. Not everyone appreciates its value and that is fine; but to destroy it seems an unnecessary and insensitive act in a world where history can all too easily slip away forgotten. The old rite’s ability to encourage silence and contemplation is a treasure not easily replicated, and, when gone, impossible to reconstruct. This appeal, like its predecessor, is “entirely ecumenical and non-political”. The signatories include Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and non-believers. We implore the Holy See to reconsider any further restriction of access to this magnificent spiritual and cultural heritage.
Robert Agostinelli; Lord Alton of Liverpool; Lord Bailey of Paddington; Lord Bamford; Lord Berkeley of Knighton; Sophie Bevan; Ian Bostridge; Nina Campbell; Meghan Cassidy; Sir Nicholas Coleridge; Dame Imogen Cooper; Lord Fellowes of West Stafford; Sir Rocco Forte; Lady Antonia Fraser; Martin Fuller; Lady Getty; John Gilhooly; Dame Jane Glover; Michael Gove; Susan Hampshire; Lord Hesketh; Tom Holland; Sir Stephen Hough; Tristram Hunt; Steven Isserlis; Bianca Jagger; Igor Levit; Lord Lloyd-Webber; Julian Lloyd Webber; Dame Felicity Lott; Sir James MacMillan; Princess Michael of Kent; Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest; Lord Moore of Etchingham; Fraser Nelson; Alex Polizzi; Mishka Rushdie Momen; Sir Andras Schiff; Lord Skidelsky; Lord Smith of Finsbury; Sir Paul Smith; Rory Stewart; Lord Stirrup; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa; Dame Mitsuko Uchida; Ryan Wigglesworth; AN Wilson; Adam Zamoyski
A PDF Version of this press release is available here
Full text of the 1971 Petition and its signatories, as it appeared in The Times on 6 th July 1971, here.
Additional signatories of the 1971 petition, published in Italy, here.
Full text of the 1966 Petition and its signatories, here.
Notes for Editors
The Latin Mass Society was founded in 1965 to support the continued celebration of the Catholic liturgy in the form it took at the eve of the Second Vatican Council: the ‘1962 Missal’ or Traditional Mass.
The 1971 petition and others like it were the subject of a major historical study published in 2023:
The Latin Mass and the Intellectuals: Petitions to Save the ancient Mass from 1966 to 2007, Edited by Joseph Shaw, with a preface by Martin Mosebach (more information here).
Latin Mass Society
Press contacts:
Communications Officer, Portia Berry-Kilby
portia@lms.org.uk
Chairman, Joseph Shaw
oxford@lms.org.uk
Registered Office: 9 Mallow Street
London
EC1Y 8RQ
020 7404 7284
info@lms.org.uk
Registered Charity Number: 248388
Among the Petition Signatories
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
HRH Princess Michael of Kent
James MacMillan
Bianca Jagger
Lord Lloyd-Webber
Rt Hon Michael Gove
Tristram Hunt
Lady Antonia Fraser
Sir Nicholas Coleridge
Lord (Charles) Moore of Etchingham
Fraser Nelson
Rory Stewart
Lord (Jock) Stirrup
A N Wilson
Tom Holland
Lord (Julian) Fellowes
Social Links
TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS RETREAT
Friday 8th November to Sunday 10 November 2024
Celebrant: Fr Antony Sumich, FSSP
VENUE: St Mary MacKillop Centre, 30 Holgate Road, Kohimarama, Auckland
The program will include:
- Daily Traditional Latin Mass with a sung solemn Traditional Latin Mass at St Paul’s Chapel, Ponsonby, Sunday 10 November
- Devotional talks by Fr Sumich
- Daily Rosary
- Exposition and Benediction
- Litanies, Chaplet of Divine Mercy and other devotions
- Time for personal prayer and reflection
- Meals as required per the below schedule.
Cost:
Live in: $220.00 (including two nights’ accommodation, all meals Friday and Saturday, breakfast Sunday, retreat costs and shuttle to St Paul’s chapel) per person.
Day attendance: $50.00 per day (including lunch, morning and afternoon tea, retreat costs). $100 for the full weekend. If supper required on Saturday evening this will be an additional cost.
Day attendance without meals: $20 for Saturday (retreat costs) $40 for the full weekend Friday to Sunday.
Payment: Please make payment to the Latin Mass Society of New Zealand ANZ bank a/c no. 11-5438-0112907-11. (If paying by Internet Banking please insert your name and “retreat”).
For further details and registration, email: latinmass.secretariat@xtra.co.nz or jancu7489@gmail.com
Telephone: Janet Curran 027 6128297, Sharon Crooks 027 5775223, Christine Le Lievre 06 3536173
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