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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Plague

Aurelio Porfiri · August 13, 2014

951 Pope Francis HAVE NEVER actually met Pope Francis; I just saw him from afar at the funeral of one of my most important teachers, who was also a Cardinal. I never had the chance to meet him closely, like with Saint John Paul II or Benedict XVI. I might have seen Paul VI up close when I was very young, but this did not happen either with Pope Francis and maybe will never. But, imagine for the sake of this article, that one day I will be admitted in Santa Marta and have a conversation with him.

What will be the important thing that I will tell him? Please care about sacred music? No. Say something against abuses of the liturgy? Don’t think so. Please declare officially that the Catholic Church did not start with Vatican II? Not necessary. I mean, all very important things, but all in a certain way subordinated to the very thing I should have the courage to tell him: Holy Father, Pope Francis, my Bishop, please free us from the plague of clericalism! If you think the problem is really there. It is this abuse of their function from the clergy that makes everything else fall down.

It is the abuse of those that use the Church instead of serving the Church, those that are protected from their bishops even if caught in crime, those that manipulate other people’s minds, hiding behind the respectable dress they are wearing. But is Pope Francis aware of this plague? Of course! On December 16th 2013, in Santa Marta Chapel for his daily Mass he said: “Lord, free your people from a spirit of clericalism and aid them with a spirit of prophecy.” A little before this, on November 29th, he met with the superior generals and warned them to be careful with the training of future priests, to not risk creating “little monsters.” Speaking of seminarians, he added that they may: “grit their teeth, try not to make mistakes, follow the rules smiling a lot, just waiting for the day when they are told ‘Good, you have finished formation.’ This hypocrisy is the result of clericalism, which is one of the worst evils.”

If I may extrapolate from the Pope’s statement: it is the worst evil, the root of all abuses towards people and also liturgical rites. Clericalism is what makes millions of people stay away from the Church, and it is a terminal disease. Unfortunately, this disease affects the Church for a long, long time. Also, perhaps there is something in the Church’s nature that makes it susceptible to this disease (though it is not proper only to the Church), and can never go away. One of the qualities of Pope Francis that I appreciate him for, is having his eyes open on his clergy. But my hope is subdued: the task is too big for one man coming from the end of the world.


BOTTEGA • Aurelio Porfiri is where you can discover
many of Mæstro Porfiri’s compositions in PDF format.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Pope Francis Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The modern human being, wearied by the noisy and hectic life, through an attentive listening can find in church a restful peace which is the springboard for true prayer.”

— Dr. Joseph Lennards (1966)

Recent Posts

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  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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