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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

Pope Francis on Collaboration of the Lay Faithful

Fr. David Friel · December 20, 2015

NLY A MONTH AGO, the German bishops were in Rome for their ad limina visits. During his time with them, Pope Francis took the opportunity to encourage the Germans in a definite direction—a direction that includes greater focus on spiritual poverty, sacramental confession, pro-life activism, and vocation promotion.

The Holy Father also shared interesting remarks on the role of the priesthood vs. the role of the laity. These remarks, directed to the shepherds of the Church in Germany, have bearing also on the life of the Church in much of the Anglophone world, including Ireland, the UK, Australia, and many parts of the USA.

Pope Francis said this during his remarks:

Pastoral plans that do not give adequate importance to priests in their ministry of governing, teaching, and sanctifying in regard to the structures and the sacramental life of the Church, on the basis of experience, are destined for failure. The precious collaboration of the lay faithful, above all where vocations are lacking, cannot become a surrogate for priestly ministry or make it even seem simply to be optional. Without the priest, there is no Eucharist.

In many dioceses, plans have been devised or enacted to make priest-less parishes almost normative. The Holy Father cautions us against ever thinking of this situation as normative.

Late last week, fellow-blogger Dr. Calabrese made a terrific post proposing sung vespers as an antidote to clericalism. The word “clericalism” is often misused or misunderstood. I have written about the topic before, as well, notably here.

As real as clericalism is in some places, anti-clericalism is just as real in other places, and both maladies are just as pernicious. Priests are not all there is to the Church, but nor are they merely a luxury in the Church. Priests are not the only ones capable of working within the Church, but nor are they merely functionaries intended to produce the Eucharist en masse for those in their spiritual care. Just as the Blessed Sacrament is, Itself, a gift to the Church, so, too, is the sacred priesthood.

Our Holy Father’s words to the German bishops challenge Catholics throughout the world to think deeply about the process of diocesan pastoral planning. As he explains so gently and yet so clearly: “The precious collaboration of the lay faithful, above all where vocations are lacking, cannot become a surrogate for priestly ministry.”

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 Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Those who are trying to improve the quality of congregational singing cannot refuse to Gregorian chant the place which is due to it.”

— Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship (14 April 1974)

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