• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“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)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

Hypocrisy About Francis From An Unlikely Source

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2015

453 Pope Benedict XVI HEN BENEDICT XVI was pope, it was only natural that certain articles & blogs would point out actions by him, especially with regard to liturgical matters. Whenever this happened, certain progressive liturgists would repeat the same phrases over and over. I can’t remember them all, but here are some that surfaced most often:

We should recall that every Bishop is the Vicar of Christ in his diocese, guarding against the impression that only the Pope is. Until very recently, most bishops were not appointed by the Pope, and most Christians had no reason to know the name of the Pope. The first encyclical by a pope was in the 18th century and popes seldom issued comprehensive teaching documents for the whole world before then. And so on…   Translation: Nothing said or done by Benedict XVI matters much.

Upon the election of Pope Francis, however, these same voices have become obsessed with every aspect of St. Peter’s Successor (even ridiculously trivial items and things they misunderstand), and—wonder of wonders!—these same progressives no longer repeat the above phrases. This probably shouldn’t surprise us, since they’re often quite “selective” in their approach to the Church. (Consider, for example, how carefully they ignore key Vatican II mandates like Sacrosanctum Concilium §116.) 1

WHAT HAS SURPRISED ME, THOUGH, are actions by some of my friends in the “ultra-traddy” camp. For example, I recently visited an ULTRA-TRADITIONAL blog. Of the twenty most recent posts, seventeen of them had to do with Pope Francis. Yet, when Pope Benedict XIV was pope, his minor actions were never treated in such a fashion. In fact, if we entered a time machine and went back to the papacy of B16, perhaps three-out-of-twenty posts on that same blog would have dealt with Pope Benedict. Is Pope Francis really that much more significant than B16?

If the authors of such blogs were questioned, their response would doubtless be:

Truth be told, we have no reporters. All we can do is “react” whenever something is put forward by news organizations. Our “breaking news” is nothing more than copy/paste from mainstream media sources. Therefore, if such organizations report on Pope Francis excessively—while they never reported on Pope Benedict XVI—all we can do is mimic them.

They fail to realize they’ve fallen into a trap. Today’s 24-hour news cycle has made reporters outrageously lazy, and far too much of the daily “news” consists of obsessing about our president, while shamelessly ignoring the vast problems afflicting millions of Americans. When President Obama was first elected, the most pressing question one reporter had for him—and actually asked this at a press conference—was: “Mr. President, what has most enchanted you during your first 100 days in office?”

How distressing to see some ULTRA-TRADITIONALIST blogs treat our Pope the same way secular media treat the president—obsessing about every little thing he says & does—in a way they never did for B16. Their actions display a lack of understanding about the true nature of the Papacy.

TO THOSE WHO GENUINELY LOVE the Church and her traditions: Do good. Focus on the positive. Celebrate the beautiful things God has given us, like Bach’s Art of the Fugue or the Gregorian Psalm tones. Stop obsessing about everything you see reported by the brain-dead & pagan mainstream media. Resist the temptation to believe that Francis is 80,000 times as important as Benedict because he receives 80,000 times as much media coverage.

As someone who first started attending the 1962 Mass on a daily basis during the mid-1990s, I can assure you that any gains made for sacred tradition were accomplished by showing others the positive. Incidentally, few things are easier than finding “bad news” about the Church in today’s world. I could easily cite specific names of horrible, wretched appointments by any pope you like—even Benedict XVI (who’s probably my favorite pope of the last 70 years).

Only a fool would consider Pope Francis a strong leader in favor of the Extraordinary Form. Similarly, there was very little support for the ancient liturgy during the 1990s. 2 Yet, I cannot see any difference between the Rite as I attended two decades ago and the Rite I attend now: same beauty, same graces, same peace. No amount of foolishness on the part of the mainstream media can change this.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   A blog by the Collegeville Liturgical Press cites—more than any other source—the National Catholic Reporter, which recently printed an article containing this gem of wisdom: “What if God can make a mistake? What if God is only slightly better at navigating life than we are?”

2   During the ’90s, when a high-ranking cleric in our Diocese learned that all seven members of my family attended the Traditional Latin Mass, he literally ran away from us. It was incredibly rude and left a terrible impression upon me.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“Vatican II did not say anything about the direction of the celebrant. […] I love both directions of celebrating Mass. Both are full of meaning for me. Both help me to encounter Christ—and that is, after all, the purpose of the liturgy.”

— Christoph Cardinal Schönborn (February 2007)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up