GUADALAJARA, Mexico (LifeSiteNews) — The former Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico’s Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, has joined his voice to those of many others petitioning Pope Francis not to allow further restrictions on the traditional Mass.
In a July 6 letter to the Pontiff, Sandoval urged Pope Francis to preserve current access to the traditional Mass. The letter, published by Una Voce Mexico on July 16, its English translation posted on Rorate Caeli, was written in response to current rumors regarding future restrictions on the traditional Mass coming from the Vatican.
“There are rumors that there is a definitive intention to prohibit the Latin Mass of Saint Pius V,” Sandoval began.
The Lord’s Supper, which He commanded us to celebrate in memory of him, has been celebrated throughout history in various rites and languages, always keeping the essential: to celebrate the death of Christ and to participate in the Table of the Bread of Eternal Life.
Noting how the Catholic Church has a wide variety of rites and languages used in the wealth of its liturgy, Sandoval stated that “it cannot be bad what the Church celebrated for four centuries, the Mass of St. Pius V in Latin, with a rich and pious liturgy that invites us to enter into the Mystery of God.”
“Several Catholic and non-Catholic individuals and groups have expressed the desire that it not be suppressed, but that it be preserved,” he commented, noting how such petitioners argued so “because of the richness of its liturgy and in Latin, which together with Greek, is the matrix of culture, not only in the West, but also in other parts of the world.”
Closing the brief letter, Sandoval – created cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1994 – urged Francis not to restrict the ancient Mass.
“Pope Francis, do not allow this to happen,” he said in reference to further restrictions. “You are also the custodian of the historical, cultural, and liturgical richness of the Church of Christ.”
Due to Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, the Latin Mass has been increasingly restricted around the globe. In recent weeks, reports have surfaced suggesting that new, more stringent restrictions are being urgently discussed in the Vatican, with some suggesting that cardinals opposed to the traditional Mass are competing to win papal approval for their particular documents against the Mass.
In light of such rumors, a group of leading members of British society penned an open letter in The Times to Francis, asking him not to implement any restrictions. Their letter, harking back to the famous Agatha Christie letter of 1971, which was also in defense of the traditional Mass, has received widespread support and air time.
READ: Leading British figures pen defense of Latin Mass to echo Agatha Christie’s famous petition
A subsequent letter has since emerged from the Americas, with signatories joining their voices to those from the U.K. in a filial petition to the Pope to preserve the Latin Mass.
Accompanying the July 16 publication of Sandoval’s letter to the Pope is a “Letter of Adherence,” in which a number of leading campaigners, intellectuals, politicians, and professionals echo and support the cardinal’s plea.
Some of the names are also found in the open letter published in The Times, but – as expected – a number of signatories from Mexico, as well as from across the globe, feature prominently.
“We attest that among the signatories there are those of us who attend the Mass celebrated with the Missal of Saint Pius V and those who attend the Mass of Saint Paul VI; we are united by the recognition of the value of this liturgical and cultural heritage and the desire for concord and unity in the Church,” the signatories write in the Letter of Adherence.
Sandoval himself was one of the five cardinals who submitted the famous dubia to Pope Francis last summer, and which was made public in October. The other four were Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, former prefect of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences; Raymond Leo Burke, former prefect of the Apostolic Signatura; Robert Sarah, the former prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; and Joseph Zen, the former bishop of Hong Kong.
The Mexican cardinal has been a vocal critic of attempts to move away from Catholic moral teaching, regularly making public statements opposing abortion, homosexuality, and the restrictions on worship and daily life ushered in via COVID-19.