Cardinal Alfons Stickler: You know that worship and worshipping in every region is attached closely to tradition. No worship is easily changed in any religion. All are attached closely to tradition. This is true in a special manner also for our Rite, our Roman Latin Rite. Its changing after the Council was said to be a question of natural development; but, for every Rite, thinking should be only organical, adopted slowly in order to give no impression of changing, of cutting tradition. Unfortunately many people had this impression after the so- called "reform" established by the Commission, which was instituted by Pope Paul VI after the Council. Many things were changed which really cut the hearts of many of the Faithful - I would say sometimes the best of the Faithful.
Address by H.E. Cardinal Alfons Stickler
on June 20, 1992 at the Annual General Meeting
of the Latin Mass Society
Your Movement has Legitimacy in the Church
I have accepted, with great pleasure, the invitation of your Chairman and Secretary to come to your Meeting. Now after reaching my 80's I am free from my ordinary work in the Curia so I can more easily accept such invitations and I do it with great pleasure when I can be helpful to so many of the faithful who today have many difficulties. I will communicate with you some ideas which I have found in many countries. I have been to Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland. I have been last February also in the United States for the opening of the Institute of Dietrich von Hildebrand, with a great High Mass in St. Agnes Church. I was told that the church was never so full since Fulton Sheen preached his Lenten sermons there. From everywhere people were coming so I could realise that in the United States also, the movement and the consideration for the old Mass are very effective.READ...