Church brings back Latin Mass, stirs controversy

By KAREN MULLER
Daily Record staff

Greenish light poured through stained-glass windows nearly a century old, illuminating statues of Mary, Joseph and Jesus on Sunday at the dedication Mass for a new kind of Catholic church for York, one stirring a controversy in the diocese.

About 100 people filled the pews at the Saints Peter and Paul Mission Church for the blessing of the South Beaver Street building, which has also been home to Temple Beth Israel, Adas Israel and the Maranatha Church of God in Christ.

The mission of about 70 people — many of them young children — had met in a hotel in Centerville for more than a year before buying the 1907 building in York’s historic district Jan. 12.

Members say they worship and believe as Roman Catholics did until the 1962-65 reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Amid other changes, Rome abolished the Latin Mass in favor of celebrating Mass in the language of the people.

Dr. David Drew of West Manchester Township, an anesthesiologist, started the mission about two years ago with a core group of believers. The church is dedicated to restoring the Latin Rite, and worship in what they believe is the only true way.

They are traditionalists, part of a movement gathering momentum nationwide. The most visible follower is Mel Gibson, whose movie “The Passion of The Christ” — to be released in theaters Feb. 25 — has already stirred protest for its gory treatment of Christ’s death and unfavorable portrayal of Jewish people.

They worship knowing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg forbids it, and they risk excommunication.

In the Jan. 9 issue of “The Catholic Witness,” the diocese warned that the group was in schism and that celebrating Mass there would not fulfill the Sunday obligation for Catholics. The same warning appeared in many church bulletins.

“This was . . . a general statement about groups who call themselves Catholic who are not in union with the Roman Catholic Church,” said the Rev. T. Ronald Haney, spokesman for the diocese. “They can’t just set up a church. Only the bishop can do this.”

The bishop has approved one Latin Mass a month in the diocese that is conducted at Trinity High School in the Harrisburg area. Any other Latin Masses need special permission from the bishop.

“We want all the ecclesiastical traditions,” Drew said. “We don’t want them once a month. We want them every week.”

Drew sent a letter to Bishop Nicholas Dattilo on Jan. 12, he said, explaining the church’s beliefs and concerns and inviting him to the dedication. It was one of many letters and phone calls to the bishop in the last two years, he said, but none have been returned.

“I would assume in as much as they are not in union with the diocesan Catholic Church, no diocesan official feels they are obliged to respond to them,” Haney said. “They set up the parish without the approval of the bishop, and then they turn around and ask the bishop to the Mass.”

On Sunday, an aging priest in gold and white robes faced the altar and chanted the Latin liturgy as spicy incense scented the air. High, sweet voices in an a cappella choir sang in Latin from the second-floor balcony.

The Rev. Philip Stark, a retired priest who travels from Rhode Island, gave thanks for their new home and prayed for one of the mission founders, Tom Smith of Harrisburg, who died of a heart attack Friday afternoon on his way home from working at the church.

Members said they were grateful Smith had been able to see the vision of the church realized.

“It is appropriate that we remember Tom, who was so looking forward to a Mass in this place,” Stark said.

Those who attend Saints Peter and Paul Mission point to the “progressive” changes as the primary cause in the decline of the Roman Catholic Church.

“The Catholic presence here is a dying thing,” Drew said. “I tell everybody it is already dead. It’s just a question of pulling the plug.”

Reach Karen Muller at 771-2024 or kmuller@ydr.com.

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