Statement of Principles

The Society for Catholic Liturgy is a scholarly and professional association founded on the following principles which it seeks to advance in its various activities and deliberations:

1. belief that the primary purpose of the sacred liturgy is to worship God, who continues the work of redemption and sanctification through the sacred mysteries of Christ handed down to us in and through the Catholic Church;

2. respect for Catholic liturgy in all approved rites and usages from the apostolic period to the present day;

3. desire to support the faithful celebration of the sacred liturgy according to the Roman Rite and to promote a better understanding of its origin, development, and current state;

4. conviction that the sacred liturgy’s incarnational nature and central role in shaping Catholic culture require fostering the beauty and fittingness of music, art, architecture, language and other elements integral to the spiritual profundity and ceremonial dignity of the rites;

5. determination to foster interdisciplinary liturgical study and practice according to rigorous scholarly and professional standards;

6. commitment to the virtues of prudence, patience, and charity.