A Letter to Pope Francis from the American Church

Dear Pope Francis, 

We wish you all wisdom and prudent judgment in your pontificate! We, the Catholic faithful in Austin, Texas, are writing to you concerning the incoming cessation of the Traditional Latin Mass on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph.

Your Holiness, if only you could see how much the people at St. Mary Cathedral in Austin love and respect you. We hold parties where we mend holes in our clothes while reading your encyclicals on stewardship of the world and its ecosystems. We minister to the homeless on the streets of the city and provide them with food, water, and prayers. We pray for you every day in and outside of the Mass. We listen to your monthly prayer intentions on the Hallow app and join you in praying for those things you humbly request. We respect and love your bishop, Joe Vasquez, who serves his flock with all humility.

We know what you are likely hearing from your advisors, Holy Father. They are giving you reports of critics on YouTube who are denigrating everything you do. These commentators are calling you the anti-pope. They are claiming that you are a heretic. Even worse than these personal slights, you are watching these bellicose pundits sow division in the Church in the United States. This rupture has the potential, as it often does, to spread abroad through American-made social media sites. While it may seem unlikely to you, we are not proud of this shadow side of America. We repent of it often and ask for God’s mercy on our nation.

Unfortunately, we also know that this vocal minority on social media that seeks to tear down your pontificate also proudly trumpets their allegiance to the Traditional Latin Mass. Noticing this trend, you likely decided that taking away their coveted liturgical prize was an appropriate disciplinary measure, understandably believing that it would cut off this dangerous culture at the root. You were going after the tares, the self-righteous and pharisaical weeds that have grown up among the faithful.

But in doing so, you are unintentionally cutting down the wheat. The daily Rosary devotees. The families with five, six, ten well-behaved and holy children. The diverse group of men and women who love their Eucharistic Lord and His Mother. The hands and feet of Jesus who are spending their hours spreading love and peace in their communities, not on social media spreading hate. Father, the parishioners that attend the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Mary Cathedral are ordinary men with ordinary families. But something extraordinary happened last Sunday. 

On Laetare Sunday, I peered down from the choir loft 15 minutes before Mass began and noticed that only a few pews were full of praying churchgoers. My face fell — I was concerned that the faithful were losing hope — that they had gone to other churches in anticipation of the end of the Latin rite that was to come. However, later, when I turned around after receiving Our Lord in His Body, I could not believe my eyes. The church was completely full. Parents and their children were kneeling shoulder-to-shoulder in the narthex. The parishioners had not given up. Far from it. They were silently, reverently, holding vigil with their Lord once more, and all through His Bride’s 1,700-year-old rite.

While this level of turnout is heartening, I am saddened to inform you that some of the people who were going to the Traditional Latin Mass here at our little cathedral are now attending SSPX parishes — parishes which are outside of the Catholic faith — to retain their traditions. While we are disappointed that these faithful may be making an idol of the liturgy, one can understand their pain at losing an integral part of their spiritual lives and the lives of their forefathers in faith. These sheep without a shepherd do not know that SSPX masses are considered illicit by some bishops. They do not realize that they are separating themselves from the One True Church. They are confused, disappointed, and blinded in their grief.

While we understand that you denied the Latin rite to us in an attempt to silence a small group of detractors, we fear that cutting these naysayers off from the traditional Mass will only further entrench their radicalism. In their eyes, this novel restriction of the Mass will confirm their beliefs about you — beliefs that are rife in their untruth and uncharity.

There is only one holy way to calm this storm — an abundance of Charity on both sides. Holy Father, if there was no restriction on the Latin Mass tomorrow and it was celebrated in many more churches than it is today, the sway of these critics would be diluted, and their influence on social media would dissipate. We can not promise their criticism would cease, but your loving action would certainly take the wind out of their sails. Lastly, please accept our concerns with all charity. We are not critiquing just to critique; we genuinely want to see the Church become more holy under your guidance.

As for the faithful, please do not make an idol of the liturgy. While it is rich in its beauty, the same Lord is made present for us in the Novus Ordo, whether the service is up to your standards or not. If you are angry at the Holy Father’s decision, it is your duty to continue to pray for him and shower Charity on him. Read his encyclicals and try to understand his perspective. Flood his social media with messages (preferably in Spanish, not English) telling him how much you and the American church love him and pray for him.

Obstinance will not get us out of this mess. Only love and prayer will.

Signed, 

Two Sinful Parishioners of St. Mary Cathedral

P.S. If you would like to sign a petition to voice support for reinstating the Latin rite, please click here. Thank you! Also, check out my friend Rhiannon over at her Substack.