Covering religion and faith is an endless learning venture, and readers are willing and quick to teach us. Their passion, their precision, their painstaking quest to set us straight speak good things to the vitality of people’s beliefs.

A June 21 front-page feature about the recent call from Pope Benedict XVI to extend the Latin Mass to all parishes prompted many comments, pieces of instruction to me and plenty of on-line discussion. I never anticipated how much support there is to the Old Mass that prevailed before changes of Vatican II went into place nearly four decades ago. The feedback suggests there is deep-seated disdain for the current, or New, Mass that allows for use of the vernacular (English in our case), contemporary music, lay involvement in the Mass, receiving the Eucharist in one’s hands, and more.

A reader from Scottsdale, presumably a traditionalist, gave no name, except “Scottsdale Ecclesia Dei,” sent me a large special folding brochure produced by St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, Minn. It is titled, “Why the Traditional Latin Mass?: Why NOT the New? – 62 Reasons Why.” Look at this harsh comparison in favor of the Tridentine Mass: “The Traditional Mass – 2,000 years of venerable usage (tried and true); clearly a sacrifice (an altar, a priest), centered on God (structured for reverence), completely Catholic (one Holy Catholic, apostolic); codified after Council of Trent (by a Pope Saint – Pope St. Pius V); and fruitful (multitude of saints, martyrs, religions vocations.”

Across the page, the New Mass gets this review to match each of the aforementioned characteristics: “fabricated in 1969 (experimental); clearly a meal (a table); centered on man (loose structure invites abuses); half-Protestant (lack all four marks: one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic); contrived after Vatican II (for approval of six Protestant ministers); and barren (empty seminaries, decrease Mass attendance, massive defections).

The brochure’s 62 reasons are drawn from “60 reasons” developed by 25 diocesan priests in Brazil. It is a dizzying list. Here are just a few of them: No. 22: “because by grave omissions, the New Mass leads us to believe that it is only a meal (Protestant doctrine) and not a sacrifice for the remission of sins (Catholic) doctrine.” Or No. 9: “Because in less than seven years, after introduction of the New Mass, priests in the world decreased from 413,438 to 243,307 – almost 50 percent (Holy See statistics). One more: No. 47: “Because the intrinsic beauty of the traditional Mass attracts souls by itself; whereas, the New Mass, lacking any attractiveness of its own, has to invent novelties and entertainments in order to appeal to people.”

Thomas McFadden sent an e-mail to respond to the word “boring” – how an 82-year-old woman in my story described the Latin Mass. Said McFadden, “…nothing is as boring as the typical English language Mass found in most parishes with it banal language and trite music. It’s the liturgy designed for morons.” He said 83 percent of Catholics used to attend the “boring” pre-Vatican Mass, while now only 23 percent are engaged in the “new and improved liturgy.” If the Roman Catholic Church adopted “reforms” and came up with an “alleged superior product,” then McFadden submits, “If American bishops were executives of a typical American company, they would have been canned decades ago for ‘product success like this.’”

John Chuchman of Scottsdale, a relentless advocate for the church to reform and greater lay leadership, described the pope description of the Latin Mass (”a gift from God”) “hogwash.” He said Mass could have very well be in other languages like Christ’s own Aramaic or the later Hebrew and Greek. The call for ubiquitous Latin Mass is “simply an attempt to recapture a time and system when most Catholics in this country ‘paid, prayed and obeyed,” he said. “…The church’s hierarchy is trying to put the Catholic Church full-speed in reverse. The Holy Spirit won’t allow it, nor will most intelligent Catholics.”

It remains to be seen how — or whether– Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix will move forward at getting the 91 parishes to hold Latin Masses. It would be a daunting task, if it is to be done properly. It might be wise to do some market research in the parishes to determine how much a draw such Masses would be. From a practical standpoint, it would need to start in catechism and religious formation classes to nurture the understanding and appreciation to sustain Latin Masses in parishes.