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Views from the Choir Loft

Tu Es Petrus

Aurelio Porfiri · August 26, 2014

DON’T THINK POPE FRANCIS needs my words to defend him, because he would know very well how to do it himself. Also, to be honest, while I cannot say that I agree on everything he is doing, in general I believe that he deserves a deep respect for his actions.

Before continuing, I must ask my readers to avoid a very big mistake that is quite common in Catholic literature, the belief that if you defend Pope Francis it means you are against Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, and that if you exalt Benedict XVI it means you hate Pope Francis; neither of which is true my case. If you read my posts here and in other places, or my books and articles, you immediately will feel that I belong to the side of Benedict. Indeed I have a deep admiration and respect for him, and his ideas have influenced me a lot. This will never change. However, I realize that to put the two popes one against the other is a nonsense, as they address different problems in our society, with a different perspective and with a different worldview and background. They have different interests and priorities, and this is shown in their pastoral action.

First we face the issue of liturgy; of course Pope Benedict was very sensitive on this issue, being a lover of beauty as expressed in Catholic Tradition, a lover of music and art; this makes me feel, even now, still very close to him. My book “Il canto dei Secoli” was described by a theologian very close to Pope Benedict XVI’s teachings as deeply influenced by the thinking of the German Pope. I confirm, and still now confront myself with this great Pope. Pope Francis is a man of deep faith but the reflection about the issues surrounding liturgy is not among his priorities. He wants again to show the mercy of Jesus in a very troubled world, and is doing this with his actions, that of course are very easily misunderstood.

At present, it seems he hasn’t changed anything spectacular in the liturgy, with the exception of the document about the sign of peace, that indeed was not seen with favor from progressive liturgists. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was used to visiting the very poor in the slums of Buenos Aires and so has seen the deep frailty of our humanity. This is why I like his phrase, about the Church being a “field hospital,” because we are all weak and in need of help and forgiveness. We are all burdened with sins and we need understanding together with the need to find the right way. Cardinal Newman has said that “we are going to heaven backward”; yes, despite our efforts and a few exceptional models in the saints, we should be honest with ourselves and recognize our weak nature and our need for help, help where we are (the field hospital), to be reached where our sins most hurt.

I hope I am not mistaken when I say that Pope Francis is acting in this direction in his own peculiar way; of course, being himself a sinner too (as he defines himself when asked by an Italian journalist) he may also misread situations and commit mistakes. In that occasion we can only hope that the words of Jesus, “Tu es Petrus,” will be for him the best cure and will be enough to restore his spirit and help him in the titanic mission of giving to a lost world the only hope that can still save it.


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 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Victoria not only made his professional debut as church organist: he also continued active on the organ bench until the very eve of his death. Indeed, during his last seven years at Madrid (1604-1611) he occupied no other musical post but that of convent organist.”

— Dr. Robert Stevenson (1961)

Recent Posts

  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
  • “Participation” • Recovering its Receptive Dimension

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