@chonak What is the policy about posting questions and cautions like this in direct reply to job postings on the forum? I seem to recall having seen it before, though I'm not sure. If true it is highly relevant info and the lister also deserves a chance to respond/clarify, I think.

FWIW, the number of bishops and priests who try to ban latin amazes me too. I have a friend at a parish who just spoke with me last week, stating that the parochial vicar has banned him from having any latin at any of the masses he says. Ironically, the pastor is traditional, and the parish even hosts one of the Diocesan TLMs... this vicar claims that it's "the spirit of the council". The same old dribble. Never mind what the council actually mandated.

Whatever the foibles of the council may have been, I will forever thank the good Lord for Sacrosanctum Concilium's very direct decree that Latin is to be retained and even normative. Anyone who has an honest reading of the document simply cannot wiggle around it unless they are acting in bad faith.

Happily, I'm pleased to report we will be singing a completely latin ordinary this evening with our Bishop, thanks be to God! He's one of the good ones. (I'm not sure how we managed to be so blessed!) I would probably have a nervous breakdown if my situation was not such as it is, with a kind bishop who is not antagonistic to tradition. In fact, he even said point blank, "I love missa de angelis!" (No complaints from me!)

This morning I was perusing an old thread about a CS Lewis essay on "church music" and saw someone relegate Mass VIII to the pile of "low brow" music (I guess because PIPs actually know it?). So, not to put a damper on things, but your bishop's love for it actually marks him out a terribly low-brow and coarse sort of man.

The rector of the cathedral in Venice should know better (I have met him) but he knows very little about liturgy. And in Atlanta, priests cannot celebrate the Novus Ordo in Latin without the bishops permission ( dumb idiot). And to top it further, the bishop has told the pastor of the parish that I just left to ban any Latin for the time being. Nevermind that they were singing the Ordinary in Latin (they knew 3 settings) and the Marian antiphons. He is an ass and his fraternal Franciscan brother is the bishop of Charlotte. Birds of a feather are ugly together.

Hamilton, like Buffalo, should be abolished. Let the reader decide if I only mean the episcopal sees.

Buffalo is a great city qua city (except for late fall/early winter blizzards, true; wait for Lake Erie to freeze over...). Yes, it had seen far far more glorious days, but there's still enough there to support a rebirth.

vicar claims that it's "the spirit of the council"

He is probably right.

Cathedrals truly banning Latin should call themselves Armchairs, no?

While we are complaining, let us not forget the Diocese of Hamilton: https://hamiltondiocese.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Gathered-into-One.pdf

In that wasteland, all choral music is forbidden except at the offertory. Everything else must be congregational. Latin is restricted to what’s in the Canadian hymnal (which in the most recent and widespread edition is K&G VIII, K XVIII, and the requiem Sanctus/Agnus).

Whew, that's heavy-handed. As a Canadian, it's weird because the "official" version of hymnals don't match. The Catholic Book of Worship is long overdue (by about 5 years or more at this point, they keep promising it), so the psalm translations don't match the lectionary anymore and haven't for decades, and the 2011 English translation is limited to only 4 music settings then, which includes the ICEL chant, as published in the Celebrate in Song supplement.

I don't think it matters too much whether Cathedrals "ban" Latin. In the best case scenarios, they're milktoast hymn based liturgies with a sprinkling of chant to create vibe. It would make the job harder if the "ban" extended to the choir though.

Edit: not discounting the very fine work and solid building many of us here are trying to do.

ServiamScores,
Naturally if the pope isn't experiencing the effects of his policies, he will never know they're bad.
Ditto Pope Francis, may he rest in peace. The musical poverty his decisions encouraged never encroached on the gates of his basilicas. Nice Latin ordinaries, reasonable ceremony, even good choral singing. Is this an ivory tower?
Countless churches and their parishioners/clergy were not so lucky.

I apologize for the sharpness of some of my comments in recent days. It just so happens that I am despairing of the future of the Church too; perhaps one of the lucky ones, with a well-paying job and some influence over the education of priests, but acutely aware of the mess that my peers face day to day. At the very least, I'm wondering whether I can morally justify showing young organists, by example, that they can trust the Church as an employer.

Considering that popes aren't born into the position but usually have years of pastoral experience (Leo certainly does) I'm not sure how cleanly the ivory tower excuse works. I think we just haven't had a liturgy-minded pope since V2 with the exception of 2005-2013, and that Leo has now revealed in no uncertain terms that he isn't going to be one either (which isn't to say he couldn't improve in that respect from Francis).

After what we recently found out about Francis' misuse of the 2021 CDF report we can't even rule out the possibility of intentional misrepresentation here, though I don't presume that of Leo.

While the interview was only divulged this week, I believe it took place a couple months ago. I don't think the Charlotte fiasco was even in swing, though I'm murky how those timelines fit. Leo has met with Cdl. Burke and others since then so I hope he has heard some perspectives that differ from the status quo he inherited from Francis.

I just happened to stumble upon this page. As I am currently the Interim Music Director at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice, FL, and worked with the previous Music Director for the almost 2 years that he was there, I can assure you that Latin is not currently nor ever has been banned at our Cathedral. It’s very disappointing to hear that this is being spread around. We literally just sang “Anima Christi” this past weekend. I’m saddened to hear other Cathedrals have banned Latin and I only hope that perhaps those are also misunderstandings.

If anyone feels the need for clarity on this subject regarding Epiphany Cathedral please feel free to reach out to me by phone/text/email. I am more than happy to share my experience with any esteemed colleagues out there.

Shawn Marren
(941)716-5518
marren@epiphanycathedral.org

[Thank you so much for correcting the misinformation! --admin]