Pope John Paul Warns Against Further Changes in the Liturgy
VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II, speaking out against further changes in the Roman Catholic liturgy, said that reforms are “not requested nor desired” by Catholics, the Vatican said this week.
John Paul made the latest statement opposing additional changes in a letter to a group of clergy examining the liturgy.
Liturgy is the prescribed form for Mass and other worship services. Among the changes that arose from the 1962-1965 Vatican Council was the practice of saying Mass in the local language instead of in Latin.
The letter said the liturgy “has no need for novelty . . . nor does it go constantly in search of ‘adaptations’ that are not requested nor desired by the Christian people.”
What the faithful want is “the well-meaning continuity that allows the seed, planted in their hearts, to grow roots, germinate, blossom and give fruit,” the letter asserted.
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