Editor’s note: You can sign the petition asking Pope Francis not to ban the Traditional Latin Mass here.
(LifeSiteNews) — World-renowned Catholic composer Sir James MacMillan has started a petition asking the Vatican not to further restrict the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).
MacMillan, one of the co-signers of the recently published open letter of leading figures in British society asking the Vatican to preserve the TLM, stressed that the new petition is “entirely ecumenical and non-political.”
READ: Leading British figures pen defense of Latin Mass to echo Agatha Christie’s famous petition
MacMillan wrote that all the signatories of the open letter in defense of the TLM “recognise that, to quote the letter, the destruction of the Traditional Latin Mass would be ‘an unnecessary and insensitive act in a world where history can all too easily slip away forgotten.’”
“There are continuing reports from Rome that the Vatican, having already severely restricted access to the Latin Mass, is planning what would amount to a formal worldwide ban on its celebration in ordinary parishes,” the composer said.
“Whatever your beliefs, I urge you to sign it as a gesture of support for those Catholics who have found spiritual solace in the old Latin Mass and now – at a time when religious minorities around the globe are facing harassment – face the prospect of being forced to disown their own precious heritage,” he continued.
READ: Archbishop Cordileone defends Latin Mass in new article: ‘Beauty evangelizes’
“Please keep any messages of support respectful, as this petition does in any way not challenge the authority of Pope Francis and attacks on him would damage our cause,” MacMillan concluded.
Sir James Macmillan is one of the most well-known and celebrated Catholic classical music composers of the present day. His musical version of the famous medieval poem Stabat Mater was commissioned by the Vatican and performed in the iconic Sistine Chapel.
MacMillan’s petition has garnered over 2,600 signatures within one day. It was promoted by several Anglican clergy members, among others.