Dear Holiness,
Congratulations on your election. I will keep you in my daily prayers, for your health and happiness, and that by God’s grace you will be a holy pope faithful to transmitting and handing down what you have received as the Vicar of Christ, that is Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the Magisterium, and the whole ecclesiastical tradition of the universal Church. For the salvation of souls.
I also pledge to you my filial respect and obedience as the Vicar of Christ. I will always obey every law you give that applies directly to me, as long as it does not violate Church teaching, the divine law, or natural law, or substantially endangers faith and morals. I give of course my obedience first to God, and then to the perennial Church, including to all the teachings and directives of past popes, and then to yourself above any other man alive on Earth, in the realm of faith and morals.
As an American, while I value the tradition of a European/Italian pope, I welcome you as our new Holy Father from America. I hope you being an American will help the Church in the US, to grow, to defend itself, and to make America one day a Catholic nation. When you were the Superior of the Augustinian Order I taught biology at the Augustinian school in Tulsa, Cascia Hall, where I learned more about the heritage of St. Augustine, reading then his Confessions.
This was five years after I started to attend the traditional Mass, having since attended it for twenty more years. Please look closely at the analysis of the survey of bishops taken about their experience with the Latin Mass groups in diocesan parishes. I do not believe certain reports that the bishops experienced serious problems resulting in Traditionis Custodes. I have read a rumor, on a Catholic blog, it contacted by a priest who was told by a seminary rector, apparently in Rome, that they have witnessed you offer the traditional Mass in your private chapel.
Dear Holy Father, please once again liberate the ancient and venerable Roman rite, which even canon law says all Roman rite Catholics have a right to, as interpreted by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum, recognizing the universal place still of the ancient rite as codified by Pope St. Pius V. Please end what seems like a persecution of Tradition and traditionalists, from a reign of terror, our perceptions being based closely on verifiable historical facts the last several years. This liturgy has not only nourished the saints for centuries, it sustains so many Catholics, especially faithful Catholic families. Please show mercy, and help “restore all things to Christ” including with the liturgy.
Lastly, we feared another Francis, a Francis II, with the same plan. Please heal our wounds. We have been truly spiritually and mentally traumatized by so many scandals since 2013. Please simply choose the course of Christ, and the perennial Church, not the political leftist course. Please do not let your pontificate be like the last pontificate, in so far as it truly was a source of great division, that is alienating so many Catholics faithful to orthodoxy and preserving sacred Catholic tradition. We know something of your policies, but you are not Pope Francis, you are Pope Leo, and I hope what we learn about you on a personal level is good.
I am one of the traditional Catholic bloggers who began writing publicly since 2013. I promise you I will not be bitter or self-righteously angry about anything controversial that might come from you, but rather respectful of your holy office, and seeking the good of the Church in accord with canon # 212.
I was very happy you took the name Leo, and showed great respect for Catholic tradition on the balcony, which has encouraged us traditionalists. You mentioned in your speech several times the need for dialogue . I ask you to consider entering into closer discussions with us on what we observe, regarding the Council, liturgical reform, and conciliar reforms. So much that has been lost, we can restore with you.
Sincerely,
Joseph Ostermeir (pen name)
The Okie Traditionalist