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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Ministerial Creativity” by Bishop Donald Trautman

Jeff Ostrowski · December 19, 2013

921 Trautman Inculturation URING HIS LONG career, Bishop Donald Trautman published a whole host of liturgical articles, and most are available online. As Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Liturgy, he was a major proponent of the following:

“inclusivity” & “pastoral considerations”

“cultural sensitivity” & “inculturation” *

“ministerial creativity”

avoidance of “rubrical rigidity”

For the average Catholic in the pews, what have the results been? To mention just one, 99% of today’s Catholic parishes can lawfully use horrible song texts set to secular tunes instead of the ancient Propers assigned by the Church. Sometimes, the hymns are heretical, but not all are. Usually, they’re just colloquial, lamentably uninspired rubbish, like these typical examples from modern hymnals like GIA’s Worship IV.

ON THE OTHER HAND, BISHOP TRAUTMAN had absolutely no tolerance for the Extraordinary Form or the Ordinary Form said in Latin, no matter how ardently certain members of the faithful desired it. He even issued a special set of incredibly rigid rules in an attempt to prevent his priests from celebrating the Extraordinary Form. I’m probably the last person in the world Bishop Trautman would have consulted, but if asked, here’s what I would have said:

Bishop Trautman, your efforts should not be spent persecuting priests and faithful Catholics who ardently desire a more reverent form the Mass, allowed by the Church. These are venerable rites. With regard to the Extraordinary Form, it nourished so many saints over the centuries. With regard to the Ordinary Form in Latin, the Second Vatican Council specifically ordered that Latin be preserved. You’ve said we must be “pastorally sensitive to the liturgical assembly.” You’ve condemned “rigid uniformity in matters that do not involve the faith.” Shouldn’t your rules be applied equally to all Catholics?

BISHOP TRAUTMAN HAS MADE STATEMENTS which conflict with official statements by the Second Vatican Council:

      * *  Verified Statements • Most Rev. Donald Trautman, Bishop Emeritus of Erie

Why were such bizarre statements made? Some have suggested that “his generation” could get away with it, since average Catholics had no access to the conciliar documents — after all, the internet only became popular in the 1990s. I suppose that’s possible. Another possibility would be that he never studied the documents of Vatican II. After all, his writings are full of errors. For example, Bishop Trautman implied the first Mass was in the vernacular — it wasn’t! — and seems unaware of the “Pauline” origin of et cum spiritu tuo.

Here’s the bottom line: we shouldn’t assume that, because a person is elected to chair the USCCB Committee on Liturgy, he automatically knows everything. For instance, consider these recent words by the former Executive Director of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, who served just two decades after the liturgical reforms. The reason he can’t find that musical setting is rather simple … the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar were never sung!


* Unfortunately, when Bishop Trautman cites “inculturation,” he ignores the specific requirements given in Sacrosanctum Concilium, interpreting it in warped, one-sided way.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers, Reform of the Reform Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“How on earth in the [post-conciliar] liturgy for the dead should there be no more mention of sin and expiation? There’s a complete absence of imploring the Lord’s mercy. […] Although the texts were beautiful they were still lacking in the sense of sin and the sense of mercy. But we need this! And when my final hour comes, ask for mercy for me from the Lord, because I have such need of it!”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (3 June 1971)

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