[Argus]

Under the Pope John Paul II, American Catholics' attendance at weekly Mass declined as many were put off by what they saw as increasingly conservative Vatican doctrine.

What a load of bull. Mass attendance has been declining steadily since the 60's threw out the Latin Mass and brought in the dumbed down, feelin' alright, guitar strummin' idiots' liturgy. If Benedict XVI restores liturgical discipline, Latin, incense and Gregorian chant, the churches will fill up again. People want the Real Thing, not the watered down substitute.

[AliVeritas]

Amen

[ninenot]

While I agree with you that a restoration of the Liturgy is in order, I cannot agree that such a restoration will, in and of itself, "fill the pews."

The West's wealth works to bring about the diseases of which R. spoke in his sermon before the Conclave began--and that's not going to be fixed with a few Latin words here and there.

OTOH, B16 is also VERY sensitive to the concepts of "sacred time, sacred language, sacred space" as it pertains to liturgy.