Return Gregorian Chant and Latin to the Mass.

We, as Roman Catholics in communion with the Holy See, lay our petition at the feet of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops- return Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church, and Gregorian chant, the official music of the Church, to the Roman Rite Mass.

For over 1,500 hundred years, Latin and Gregorian chant have played a vital part in the salvation of millions of souls worldwide. Almost every Western saint we venerate today was witness to the heavenly beauty of the usage of Latin in the Mass and chants.

During the Ecumenical Council of Trent, His Holiness Pius V codified 1,500 hundred years of Western liturgical traditions into what is commonly known as the Tridentine Mass (Missa Tridentina). This meaning that he did not fabricate a new order of the Mass. After the Council, the Tridentine Mass played a renewed role in the salvation of souls throughout the world.

A great controversy rages today over the use of Latin and chants, particularly after the Second Vatican Council. Some opponents of said Council blindly claim that Latin and Gregorian chant (as well as other aspects of Catholic Tradition) were done away with, thus causing great scandal within the confines of the Church. Some proponents blindly claim similar things, but that this is a healthy "renewal".

Both, as we the faithful gladly point out, are incorrect. Vatican II, specifically Sacrosanctum Concilium, said the following on the usage of Gregorian chant and Latin in the Holy Mass:

36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.

54. Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.

112. The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.

116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.

Your Graces, we do not send this petition in a spirit of nostalgia, but in a spirit of loyalty and devotion to Tradition and the Church. Even before Vatican II (which, as we see, did not permit the eradication of Tradition from the Mass), Blessed Pope John XXIII called Latin "the immutable language of the Church", and said that the language would be upheld in his apostolic constitution "Veterum Sapientia". This constitution, venerable bishops, was delivered in 1962.

There are many more statements from many more popes and saints that we could summon in our defense, but we believe that our message has been made very clear.

As a testament to the power of Tradition, seminaries pertaining to orders such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Society of St. John Cantius, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and many other traditional seminaries are virtually bursting from the seams with enrollments and applications from promising young men and women. Churches that use the traditional Mass also see growing numbers of young families and people present for the Mass.

In a recent speech, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago stated that the traditional form of the Mass is "a precious source of liturgical understanding for all other rites," and said that the pre-conciliar liturgy should be "better accepted." In addition to this, more and more high prelates have been offering the Indult Mass.

In the spirit of love, obedience, and unity with Holy Mother Church and Her shepherds, we plead with the Bishops of the United States of America to move in the path of Tradition and restore Gregorian chant and Latin to the Rite of Mass of the Roman Rite.

We leave you, Your Graces, with the words of His Holiness Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, "Ecclesia Dei afflicta".

"...I ask support of the bishops and all of those engaged in the pastoral ministry in the Church.. . . respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See, for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962."