Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Why are our Bishops Afraid of the Catholic Patrimony of Church Music?

Having gone last night to the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of an Archdiocese of the North Eastern United States of America, I have to say that with the matching stoles with chasibles provided for all concelebrants, seven candles on the altar, the seminarian altar servers, especially the six torch and thurible bearers for the consecration, etc. there have been major improvements to the Cathedral liturgies. But there is still a huge linguistic and musical void: no Latin in the liturgy! and especially no Gregorian Chant and, except for one rare exception (Ubi Caritas, Ola Gjeilo--very nice!), no Sacred Polyphony in the same Latin tongue.

That is the elephant still in the living room of our Cathedrals which should disturb every Catholic and especially every bishop and priest of Jesus Christ.

It would seem that there are still bishops who are not aware of the content of the Second Vatican II directives on these matters or simply cannot be bothered (at best, content perhaps with a minimalist crisis management administrative and pastoral style). We are, after all, ten years hence from the glorious election and beginning of the historical Papacy of our great Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his liturgical legacy of the reform of the reform, unapologetic Catholic beauty in the liturgy in communion with the Church of all ages!

So, why is our sacred music still barred from our Cathedrals and Basilicas? Shall we call it the remnant of liturgically ignorant and self-hating Catholic bishops? Your priests, seminarians (and even much of the laity) have tasted better wine! Why give them the ordinary stuff!

Dear Excellencies and Eminences: stop trying to deprive your priests and people of what is rightfully theirs: the unabashed and supremely beautiful timeless Catholic worship.


P.S. There are some bishops who even go out of their way to quash this glorious Catholic patrimony: e.g. Bishop Bootkowski in Metuchen and Bishop Da Cuhna in Fall River are two who notoriously do so. Their faithful priests fear and continue to suffer greatly their rabid hatred of tradition. Both are, sorry to say, spawns of Newark! Both were also made bishops and ordinaries outside of the watch of our good and dear "German Shepherd" (and, therefore, of Cardinal Burke's vigilant tenure on the Congregation for Bishops).

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