Cardinal Burke says Latin Mass is ‘intimately linked to the very identity’ of Catholic Church

Cardinal Burke said that the Traditional Latin Mass is ‘missionary’ and attracts young people through its sense of the sacred and transcendent.

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has again strongly defended the traditional Latin Mass, recently calling it “an invaluable treasure of the Church that must be preserved and cherished, for it is intimately linked to the very identity of the Roman Catholic Church.” The American cardinal made the remarks in an interview with Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, the organizers of the annual Chartres pilgrimage, during this year’s Pentecost weekend event in late May, though it was only released on July 14. The pilgrimage drew a record 20,000 participants, with an average age of 22, despite the intense heat and ongoing restrictions on the ancient rite in many dioceses.

Speaking on the theme of mission, Cardinal Burke emphasized that the liturgy celebrated according to the older use (usus antiquior) of the Roman Rite is itself missionary. “It is evident that this liturgy is missionary,” he said. “This is seen by its fruits now as in centuries past, for it attracts through its sense of the sacred and of the transcendent.

This is particularly evident with the younger generation, which has a deep thirst for the spiritual in an increasingly horizontal world.” The cardinal also addressed concerns about the compatibility of devotion to the traditional liturgy with the Second Vatican Council. He rejected any suggestion that Catholics who attend the Mass according to the 1962 liturgical rites are somehow less than fully Catholic or opposed to the Council.

“It is obviously possible to be fully Catholic while experiencing the sacraments according to the Books of 1962,” he stated. “It is absolutely unacceptable to claim the contrary.” He pointed out that the 1962 liturgical rites were the very ones used by all the Council Fathers during the Second Vatican Council itself.

Any claim that fidelity to these books requires rejecting the Council or the validity of later forms of the sacraments is, according to his teaching, historically and theologically unfounded. The cardinal called for deeper study of the liturgical developments between 1965 and 1969, including the Synod of Bishops’ examination of the draft Missal, to clarify the process that led to the promulgation of the 1969 Missal. “There is a great deal of work being done in this regard,” he noted.

A native of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Cardinal Burke also provided a catechesis on the doctrine that “outside the Church there is no salvation,” emphasizing that “the only path of salvation that we know with certainty—because God has revealed it to us—passes through the Church and baptism,” he said. “It is in this sense that separating oneself from the Church voluntarily through schism or heresy puts one’s own salvation in peril. Holy Scripture and our Lord, as well as the constant teaching of the Church, have always been clear that, unfortunately, souls are lost.”

The interview took place against the backdrop of Pope Leo XIV having called for generous pastoral solutions for communities devoted to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, (Vetus Ordo) while respecting the guidelines of the Council. Cardinal Burke welcomed this approach, expressing hope that the Pope’s upcoming visit to France from September 25 to 28 — including stops in Paris and Lourdes — would bring a message of unity and healing for the wounds currently affecting the Church. Cardinal Burke also highlighted signs of hope amid secularization.

While noting the welcome increase in adult catechumens in France, he cautioned that this should not obscure the decline in infant baptisms and urged renewed focus on passing on the faith to children by means of “a solid Christian education.” He observed a genuine renewal taking place through large Christian families in both France and the United States, describing it as “a true sign of hope.” In this regard, the Chartres pilgrimage itself, with its large numbers of young participants approaching the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, served as a living example of the spiritual vitality Cardinal Burke described.

“This pilgrimage is remarkable for the great youth of its participants and for their enthusiasm and fervor,” he observed. “It is a great sign of spiritual vitality and the action of the Holy Spirit. It is also a beautiful reason for hope.

May all the participants keep this spiritual momentum throughout their lives.” RELATED: