[CobaltBlue]

But ripping out altar rails, removing religious statues, turning around the altar, introducing "profane" music to services, and ending the Latin and the Tridentine Mass, destroyed a lot of the majesty of that faith.

Count me as one who disagrees with this position. I think you're talking about personal preferences in aesthetic matters, which have little, if anything, to do with actual doctrinal issues.

[rogator]

"personal preferences in aesthetic matters"

Not hardly. These are the worship traditions of the Catholic Church.

[ZULU]

Of course, that's your choice.

However, tradition always forms a very significant part of any religious belief system. Its important, as a matter of fact, in ANY organization, secular or religious. It provides a sense of identity to the members. In addition the Tridentine Mass is a very inspiring and moving ceremony. Even non-Catholics have said as much. The lay-out of the older churches with their statues, altar, rails, grand altars, etc, lent a sense of otherworldliness to the structure and helped elevate the viwer's thoughts to a non-material world. Start stripping away tradition and you loose adherents. Its a simple fact, and the number of Catholics who left after Vatican II'sinduced changes will attest to that.

The changes wrought by Vatican II would have appealed to Oliver Cromwell, who, along with his Puritan Adherents, viewed the subject very differently.