CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12282, 28 August 1905, Page 10

CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC.

PASTORAL LETTER BY BISHOP GRIMES. A pastoral has been issued! by his Lordship Bishop Grimes, officially publishing two documents recently issued by his Holiness the Pope to the Catholic Church. These are "Motu Proprio," an epitomo of ecclesiastical legislation on Church music, and the encyclical letter on tho teaching of catechism.

! Bishop. Grimes, in his pastoral, refers as follows to the first document:—"The first of these- weighty documents is .known as,the "Motu Proprio," a very epitome of ecclesiastical legislation on Ohurch music. In it the Holy Father declares that saored music, being a j complementary part of the Church's liturgy, participatee in the general scope of that liturgy which is the greater glory of God, the sanctification and. edification of the faithful. Its office is to clotbo with suitable melody tho liturgicar text proposed ' for the understanding of the faithful; to add i efficacy to the test, in order that, through it, we may the more ciasily be moved to davotian. It must, ! bhei-eforo, be in harmony with the saored liturgy it is an integral' ! part, and must suggest to its hearers that Divine worship is its supreme end. Hence, it must obviously be holy to tho exclusion of whatever is theatrical, frivolous, or irreverent. It is, there-, fore, the desire and command of the Holy Father:—That the music used in our churches be Gregorian, or, as much as possible, conformable to the Gregorian or plain dhant. That the introit, .gradual, offertory, and communion, Iks never omitted either at high mass or inisaa cantata. In compliance with the wishes of our most Holy Father, we j now strictly enjoin that these proper parts of tho mass be invariably sung on I such occasions to the Gregorian or plain chant. "Where this may, at present; be impossible, they must be rendered in some more eimple manne.r ac, for instance, in'tho recto tono. No musical instrument, except the organ, may bo used in our ohurolies, save by! tho special license of the Bishop of the aioceßo; nor should this pormiesioa bo j asked unless on very rare and excep- I tional occasions." The pastoral goes on to intimate that in conformity with the instructions of the Sovereign Pontiff no means will bo, left unturned) to institute ns soon as passible in the dioccso & special commission of compe- j tent" persons to. whom will bo entrusted j the task of watcliing over the .music executed in the Catholic Chiirches. Hie Lordship also-notifies his wish that it j should lx? a rule in the dioccso that! neither the priests nor choir masters j shall be allowed to publish in the papers any notice of singers or singing in the Catholic Churches. ; Tlio religious brothers and 'sisters engaged in 'the i work of educating .the children are ! asked to form clnesoe .wherethe children will bo taught the wordx antl meaning \ of tho principal parts of tlw ordinary masses, vespera, and liturgical hymns,: with tho e«sy, plain client of the'fame-. With reference to tjio teaching of catechism tlie pastoral fiays:—''lt irero superfluous to edd any words.of ours! to those of the sovereign -Pontiff j but I as it is his wish, nay, his conimand v that the confraternity of the Christian doctrine be canonicaliy erected in each and every parish, .we hereby impart to ell rectoTH of missions the faculty to. e-tablish this confraternity in their reBpective parishes where it is not β-lready erected. Wβ may add,, that excellent, helpers for this holy work, might be' found -among tire members of tho admirable Society of' St. Vincent de Paul, a society which we would gladly see established in orery part of the dicceue." The pastoral and Papal letters were read in tho chnrches of the diocese yesterday. -■'■■■