BCDW Dubium Re: Permission to replace Introit

CaliCatholic

Due to a recent squabble with our music director, I had recourse to the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship. Forum readers might be interested in the following correspondence which I here reproduce verbatim:

Message to the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 10, 2013 4:01 PM
My parish currently uses a lot of songs by Filipino composers as well as composers who write in Spanish. This is in addition to our selections in English. My understanding of the current G.I.R.M. is that any songs used as the Entrance chant must be approved by the United States Bishop where the book is published. My question is, what happens in cases like ours? Our parish is located in Los Angeles, yet we use songs published in the Philippines as well as Mexico. Is it true that such songs cannot be used in Liturgies where the primary language is English? Because these were not published in the United States?

RESPONSE from the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 13, 2013 9:08 AM
In cases where music from other cultures or other places is used, there is very much a more ‘loose’ interpretation of the norms because we don’t have the capacity in the US for a bishop to review or approve everything. Especially in a diocese like Los Angeles where you have so many different cultures it would be impossible to keep track of everything. That is why Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship also provides the guidelines for discerning what is appropriate for liturgical use.

Message to the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 15, 2013 10:46 PM
Thank you for your reply. Do I correctly understand from reading the below that the norms do not apply in situations where it becomes difficult to follow them? In other words, how is it possible to discern for certain when the law applies and when it does not?

RESPONSE from the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 16, 2013 7:51 AM
It’s really a matter of language and culture (such as music in other languages or from other countries that has not been subjected to an approval process in the USA), not a matter of “how difficult it is to follow the rules.” As I mentioned before, the guidelines in Sing to the Lord provide the criteria for judging what is admissible. If there is a scrupulous question about a particular piece of music, you can always submit it to your own bishop for approval for use in your diocese. The Conference of Bishops and the Committee on Divine Worship only have the authority to approve musical settings of the Order of Mass (i.e., the acclamations). All other music such as hymnody and collections of psalms and other music is the jurisdiction of the bishop of the place where music is composed or published.

Message to the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 23, 2013 9:24 AM
I have read your statement that "The Conference of Bishops and the Committee on Divine Worship only have the authority to approve musical settings of the Order of Mass (i.e., the acclamations)." I guess I am confused because the General Instruction of the Roman Missal ("Universal Law") specifically says that all replacements for the Entrance Chant ought to be approved by the "Conference of Bishops." I can look up the precise number, but you probably already know the place where it says that.

RESPONSE from the Secretariat of Divine Worship / May 24, 2013 at 2:56 AM
Perhaps I should have pointed out more accurately that in the US the Conference of Bishops defers the approval of music other than the parts of the Order of Mass to the bishop of place where particular pieces of music are composed or published. In some countries the Conference of Bishops has an approved collection (such as a list of approved music or a national hymnal). The Bishops of the US determined when they approved the Directory for Music in 2006 that the situation was rather complicated in the US, and gave the authority to local bishops to approve music published from within their respective dioceses. The complexity of cultural diversity and the extensive work of composers and publishers would make it impossible for there to be oversight in a single national office. The situation is more complicated than perhaps you would prefer. If you have any further questions, please contact your local diocesan worship office, which could better address the your particular concerns based on the practices and policies of your local bishop.

Msgr. Richard Hilgartner, Executive Director
USCCB Committee on Divine Worship
3221 Fourth St. NE
Washington, DC 20017

chonak

Thanks for posting this. I can't say that anything in it is really new to folks who read the forum regularly, since other readers have asked similar questions to Msgr. and received the same information. He's been very helpful to provide information to people about USCCB and Committee policies, and has communicated much more freely with questioners than have some of his predecessors. Just the fact that he accepts e-mail is a wonderful step.

In effect, the Committee doesn't conduct a direct examination of hymnals, but delegates the job to the local bishop of the publisher. If the book is approved, the Committee considers it approved throughout the country, with no additional procedure required. That probably does make the process easier and faster for composers and publishers than a centralized review process would do.

Ultimately, if your pastor and music director want to use some music in the Mass, nothing is going to prevent it unless the local bishop were to intervene, which is not likely. So the work of improving church music is going to have to make progress by knowledgeable people setting a good example, and not through the means of church law driving out the bad material.

For an article about CMAA's philosophy on sacred music, see our main web site.

Adam Wood

So the work of improving church music is going to have to make progress by knowledgeable people setting a good example, and not through the means of church law driving out the bad material.

'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.

Welcome to the MusicaSacra Forum!

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