Cardinal Robert Sarah, the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, has written to Pope Francis, urging him to remove a ban on the private celebration of Mass at the Vatican basilica. The new rules, he wrote, "do not correspond to the truth or the law, do not facilitate but rather endanger the decorum of the celebration, devout participation in the Mass, and the freedom of the children of God." He also voiced his fear that the norms may be a "trial balloon in view of future decisions that could affect the universal Church." This letter was entrusted to Settimo Cielo for publication.