Cardinal Burke Says Young Families Are Filling Traditional Latin Masses
In an interview with podcast host Michael Knowles, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said young Catholics with families are drawn to the Traditional Latin Mass and urged them to tell their bishops and Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said he is optimistic about the future of the Traditional Latin Mass because of the interest young Catholics with families are showing in that form of the liturgy. Speaking in a recent interview with Michael Knowles, a host at The Daily Wire, Burke said the number of young people seeking a full religious life is an encouraging sign for the Church.
"What gives me the most hope is seeing among many young people a desire to lead a good and holy life. The most demanding religious communities are receiving a great number of vocations," Burke said. He said many young people returning to the Church are looking for the beauty of the classical Roman liturgy.
"The Traditional Mass communicates more completely and richly the divine action: This is our Lord Jesus Christ who has come to renew on the altar, to make sacramentally present, his sacrifice on Calvary," Burke said. He cited Cardinal Willem Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands, in saying that "the more recent form of the Mass is valid. There is no doubt about that."
A message to bishops and the pope
Burke said those who love the Traditional Mass should tell their bishops and Pope Leo XIV that they want to worship in that form, and should make clear that they do not question the validity of the Second Vatican Council. He recalled a conversation with a senior Church official who told him that as older generations died, there would be no more requests for the Traditional Mass.
"I found that quite funny," Burke said. "Obviously, he has never attended one of those Masses. They are full of young families!"
Young people and doctrinal clarity
Burke also spoke about young people wanting to know the Church's teachings clearly and honestly. "They don't want to be told they are 'fine.' I am a sinner," he said.
Burke said, "There will be an ever-growing number of Catholics who worship as we did for more than 15 centuries." He closed with a question about allowing those who find spiritual nourishment in that form of the liturgy to keep access to it: "If a growing number of people are finding that they are spiritually nourished in this way and are becoming more committed to the faith, why should we deny them that?"
