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

Corpus Christi Watershed

We’re a 501(c)3 public charity established in 2006. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and run no advertisements. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors.

  • 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
    • 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

Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?

Jeff Ostrowski · February 7, 2023

HOSE WHO STUDY papal pronouncements and decrees are taught to take into consideration—that is, seek to understand—the “mind of the lawgiver.” Since our blog is concerned with the sacred liturgy, it’s worth noting something that took place recently. On 3 February 2023, Pope Francis met with the Catholic bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo. His Holiness responded to a hypothetical retort: “But I don’t know, because the code [of Canon Law] tells me…” Then Pope Francis said: “We must observe the code, because it is serious, but the heart of the pastor goes beyond it.”

Traditiónis Custódes • What is the mind of the lawgiver when it comes to Traditionis Custodes, a Motu Proprio which sought to slow down the spread of the Traditional Latin Mass? The lawgiver has emphasized having a “pastoral heart” rather than a rigid, legalistic, and restrictive application. Indeed, Pope Francis said on 13 July 2022: “Be open to acceptance, and hence to the value of inclusion. Don’t let yourselves be drawn into short-sighted ideologies that want to show others—those who are different from ourselves—as enemies.” On 26 September 2021, Pope Francis said: “The Holy Spirit does not want closedness; He wants openness, and welcoming communities where there is a place for everyone.”

Cardinal Roche In The Crosshairs? • Arthur Cardinal Roche has not had an easy time of it lately. Not long ago, he was publicly contradicted by Pope Francis vis-à-vis the traditional PONTIFICALE ROMANUM. On 16 June 2022, Cardinal Roche made shameful comments about Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which came off as ill-conceived and churlish. Now, the words of Pope Francis to the bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo are being interpreted as a public rebuke of the beleaguered Roche. Cardinal Roche (in a way some feel approaches “megalomania”) has endorsed an overly-rigid, overly-restrictive interpretation of Traditionis Custodes. Cardinal Roche even published a letter encouraging parishes to ostracize and belittle Catholics who have an appreciation for the Extraordinary Form, which—before being made a cardinal—Archbishop Roche had praised as more “reverent” (his word) than the Ordinary Form.

Jeff’s Advice • I will not repeat what I said in the open letter I published (reluctantly, and with deep sadness). But I do have some advice for Cardinal Roche: Stop encouraging parishioners to ostracize Catholics manifesting what Pope Saint John Paul II referred to as “legitimate aspirations.” Our church does not need more division. The Second Vatican Council declared: “Even in the Liturgy, the Church has no wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not implicate the faith or the good of the whole community.” Cardinal Roche, your time would be better spent addressing the catastrophically serious liturgical abuses which are causing great harm to the church and, thanks to the internet, irreparable scandal. It certainly seems absurdly evil to claim—as Cardinal Roche has done—that’s it’s wrong to celebrate the ancient Mass inside a parish church, but virtually anything else (such as choir rehearsal, tours of the statues, speeches, graduations, concerts, cleaning the pews, etc.) is not wrong when it takes place in the self-same parish church.

Roche’s Anger? • Needless to say, I cannot read Cardinal Roche’s heart. But in my opinion, he seems irritated by the response of (most) bishops to TRADITIONIS CUSTODES. That document placed the liturgy more firmly under the control of the local bishop, and Cardinal Roche seems opposed to this. The “Ordinary Form” Catholics have possession of all the property, schools, rectories, chanceries, universities, and churches, whereas the “Extraordinary Form” Catholics have absolutely nothing—so it’s difficult to understand why Cardinal Roche is obsessed with belittling and ostracizing them. Indeed, Cardinal Roche should seriously consider reading what Nathan told King David. If memory serves, Roche only served as bishop of a diocese for a very short period of time before going into bureaucratic posts. He seems unaware of a very important Church law, which says: The salvation of souls is the supreme law of the Church.

Legal Positivism • There’s an old saying: “For their enemies, evil men impose Canon Law; for their friends, evil men interpret Canon Law.” Cardinal Roche seems to be endorsing an overly-rigid interpretation of TRADITIONIS CUSTODES. But if one reads the document with rigidity, it doesn’t attack the 1962 Missal at all. The precise words of TRADITIONIS CUSTODES attempt to slow the spread of “the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970”—which is the 1965 Missal, not the 1962 Missal.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: 1965 Missal, Bishop Arthur Roche, Traditionis Custodes Motu Proprio Last Updated: February 8, 2023

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

    “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
    “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
    I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.
    —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

“The scholar who lives only for his subject is but the fragment of a man; he lives in a shadow-world, mistaking means for ends.”

— Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957)

Recent Posts

  • 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
  • “Breathtaking Photographs” • First Mass of Father Michael Caughey, FSSP (Muskegon, MI)

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