Vatican City, Mar 13, 2020 / 01:47 pm (CNA).- Less than one day after the Diocese of Rome closed all Roman churches to the public, the cardinal who oversees the diocese reversed himself, saying he would leave that decision to parish pastors.
Both announcements came amid deliberations between Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the vicar general of Rome, who oversees the day-to-day operations of a diocese whose bishop is Pope Francis.
De Donatis published a letter March 13 explaining that he consulted with Pope Francis before closing the churches for private prayer March 12, and before opening them again March 13.
“After consulting our bishop, Pope Francis, we published yesterday, March 12, the decree that establishes the closure of our churches for three weeks,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis wrote in a letter to the Diocese of Rome.
“A further conversation with Pope Francis, this morning, however, prompted us to consider another need: that because of the closure of our churches, other ‘least ones’ find a different kind of reason for uncertainty and confusion. The risk is for people to feel even more isolated,” he explained.
Before the initial decision’s reversal, Pope Francis had spoken out against “drastic measures” in response to the coronavirus in his morning homily televised throughout Italy and livestreamed online.
“Let’s pray for this, that the Holy Spirit may give to pastors the ability for pastoral discernment so that they might provide measures which do not leave the holy, faithful people of God alone, and so that the people of God will feel accompanied by their pastors, comforted by the Word of God, by the sacraments, and by prayer,” Pope Francis said March 13.
Pope Francis had prayed for authorities who “must decide … on measures that people do not like” in his homily the day prior.
In defiance of the initial church closure decree, the cardinal in charge of the pope’s charity office, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, opened Friday his titular church, St. Mary Immaculate all’Esquilino, a church located in an ethnically-diverse, and poor, area of Rome.
“In full compliance with safety standards, it is my right to ensure an open church for the poor. At 8:00 this morning, I came here and opened the door wide. In this way the poor will be able to adore the Blessed Sacrament which is the consolation for all in this moment of grave difficulty,” Krajewski said, according to Vatican News.
The diocesan reversal came shortly after.
The revised decree clarifies that “non-parish churches” and other religious buildings will remain closed, while parishes and missionary churches dedicated to care for others can be reopened. The properties of religious communities and monasteries are only accessible to the members of their communities.
The decree “is therefore modified, placing the ultimate responsibility of entering the places of worship in the hands of priests and all the faithful, so as not to expose the population to any danger of contagion and at the same time avoid the sign of a physical prohibition on access to a place of worship by closing it, which could create disorientation and a greater sense of insecurity,” Cardinal De Donatis wrote.
“Every ecclesial precautionary measure must take into account not only the common good of civil society, but also of that unique and precious good which is faith, especially that of the least ones,” he said.
The vicar general exhorted Catholics to follow the Italian government’s quarantine measures until April 3, and to stay at home.
“Coronavirus infection is spreading exponentially. In a few days the number of infected doubles, and at this rate it is not difficult to predict that in two months it will reach the order of tens of thousands of people only in Italy,” De Donatis wrote in his letter.
“There is a clear risk of collapse of healthcare facilities, in which there are already many on ventilators, above all because of the disproportion between the available intensive care resources and the growing number of patients. A large number of people could die, especially the elderly and vulnerable people,” the vicar of Rome said.
There are 242 confirmed cases of COVID-19 currently in Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, as of March 13, according to the Italian Ministry of Health.
Coronavirus cases in Italy have grown quickly in recent weeks surpassing 17,500 documented cases. More than 1,250 people have died from COVID-19 in the country since Feb. 22.
A nationwide quarantine has been declared in Italy through April 3 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The quarantine restricts movement within Italy and requires people to stay in their homes except for cases of absolute necessity, which may include going to work, to the pharmacy or hospital, or to the supermarket.
On March 11, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened the restrictions of a nationwide lockdown to include the closure of all restaurants, bars, and non-commercial businesses other than supermarkets.
In all cases, a distance of one meter must be maintained between people in public. Not following these regulations is punishable by fine or arrest.
The previous Diocese of Rome decree suspending all public Masses in the diocese until April 3 still stands, however now Catholics will once again have access to some parishes for private prayer.
“The spiritual need of the people of God to gather to celebrate the Eucharist becomes for us Christians the object of a painful renunciation. There is first the spiritual need for the charity of caring for our brothers. Unfortunately, going to church is no different than going to other places: it is at risk of contagion,” De Donatis wrote.
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I think that, instead of singing hymns, we would have more success getting the congregation to participate if we brought soccer balls to Mass and kicked them up and down the aisles. And the parishes wouldn’t need to pay for a pipe organ and its maintenance, or any other keyboard or instrument, or a cantor or a music minister!
Sadly, I’m actually serious about this.
I am a pianist/organist who has played all my life since childhood in Protestant churches and in several Catholic parishes in my hometown. When I moved to a new Big City after my husband passed away, I assumed that these “City Folks” would be great singers and musicians, but they’re aren’t, and neither are the suburb or rural folks.
I don’t think anyone sings anymore except when they sing along with their popular music.
I think getting Catholics in the congregation to “sing out!” is like trying to train cats! (I love cats and have a cat of my own.) Protestants at least try to warble along with their Praise and Worship team, but many of them don’t sing, either.
And even the large Catholic churches have tiny choirs (and very few men!) compared to the numbers of people sitting in the pews! Shouldn’t a parish that has several thousand members have at least a hundred people singing the choir!
Catholic friends tell me, “I sing!” But do they, really? I LOVE TO SING, and often, people, especially the children, in my parish turn around to stare at me when I am singing in a full voice, on pitch, and often singing the alto part (which isn’t written in our “missalette” hymns–grrr!!!! None of the parts are written out. Apparently, the hymnals, with four-part music scores, are too expensive and I’ve also heard that they’re “too heavy”. Sigh.
Once (just once), I heard a gentleman behind me singing the melody in a beautiful baritone voice, and after Mass, I told him he was a good singer. He sighed and told me, “This parish used to have a schola that all us schoolboys were part of, and we sang Gregorian chant and Latin, as well as the hymns in parts, and we loved singing. But now…” and he sighed again.
I wasn’t surprised. Once in my home parish, when my husband was still alive, and our daughters were home from college, all four of us sang the Mass hymns, and we sang all the parts (for those Catholics who don’t know what “parts” are–soprano, alto, tenor, bass)–and all the people in front of us turned around and stared at us!
Sadly, my current 150-year-old church nave has absolutely perfect acoustics. What a shame that the congregation doesn’t sing! It especially grieves me when I see the children just standing there. Their parents don’t even open the missalette to read the words of the hymn and show them to their children but just seem to be waiting until the hymn is over and they can sit down again.
When my daughters were growing up, I used to have them stand on the pews, and I would hold the hymnals open for them when they were too small to hold them and sing to THEM (as well as to God!) during the hymns so that they would learn the melody and the words. Since I was one of the pianists, I would have the schedule of hymns in advance and would often teach them to my daughters at home so they would know them on Sunday.
Both of my daughters were good singers because I TAUGHT them to sing and taught them the hymns, beginning with singing to them when they were babies, teaching them fun children’s songs when they were toddlers, keeping them away from pop and country music until they were older, and teaching them other music skills as they grew up. One of my daughters makes her living as a stage manager–she got her first job as stage manager of a professional ballet company because she knew how to read music! My other daughter is in a medical career, but she cantors at her large parish, and still plays piano, violin, and guitar just to relax!
My grandson, who will turn 4 soon, has already “written” 2 songs (ha ha!) and he often sings in a very loud monotone, but he’s getting there! He definitely loves music!
Amazing how many adults don’t know how to read music these days! And it’s even more amazing that kids can play soccer, but can’t read music, sing in a head voice, or have never sung in a choir because THEIR PARISH SCHOOL DOESN’T OFFER MUSIC!!!, and if they did, the children would choose a sports elective instead of a music elective.
No WONDER Hollywood and much of the professional entertainment world is so atheistic these days! (There are notable exceptions.)
I really hope that this music ignorance and avoidance will change in Catholic parishes as more Protestants convert to Catholicism (like my family did). It’s a shame that we have to drive into the city to the Basilica to hear good music–but even then, the congregation doesn’t sing. I don’t think they know how to sing. I don’t think many Catholics know how to sing. It’s really sad, considering that Paul and Silas sang hymns when they were imprisoned in chains, and that as the Early Church martyrs were marched into the arena, they sang hymns. I guess we’ll kick that soccer ball around on our way to the lions.
Latin Mass scholas are still in operation . I used to sing in one and we have an all male schola at our local Latin Mass down the road.
You’re blessed!
We are blessed here indeed Mrs. Sharon.
If our TLM community can leave the conspiracy narratives alone and just focus on Our Lord and the Mass we’ll be great shape. I love the music but had to take a break from some of the craziness.
People who feel demeaned and disregarded by the shepherds can start listening to some weird stuff. Hopefully our new pope will make the TLM more widely available and things will get back to normal.
When you force people to worship in bunkers is it any wonder when they adopt a bunker mentality?
🙂
I am guessing the younger generations are generally not trained in music well. (Schools in our area have cut those programs so administrators can be hired and the IT departments can be upgraded). I know I am not well trained. As a child, I was partially hard of hearing due to allergies. I remember being given a pitch test in elementary school. I did not receive a good score, and consequently was not invited into (or allowed into) the elementary’s school music program, which meant I didn’t take band or orchestra in Junior high or high school.
I can read standard music notation in both treble, clef, and alto clef (due to private piano and guitar instruction), but if you asked me to sing without the actual notes being played, I could not do that.
A month ago I strained my vocal chords and soft palate trying to do a Good Friday chant with the parish. Our parish is most elderly, and the voices are not strong. A gentleman in the parish reminds of this every now and then. He, of course, is well trained musically with a very good voice.
I agree with you that many students bypass music electives in schools (both public and parochial schools, and also home schools), often so that they can concentrate on the much-touted STEM courses and their guarantee of a high-paying job, and of course, on sports (with the hope of their parents that their child will earn a college scholarship if they are good in their sport(s).
It’s a shame that “money” is the motivation behind interest in STEM subjects.
Home-schooled students generally are either placed in music lessons or local choirs by parents, or the parents teach the music, which can work well if the parent is musical, but badly if the parent has no idea what they are doing. Many homeschool co-ops hire a music teacher, but even in home schools, if there are “electives,” many of the children select either STEM classes or Physical Education classes, not music.
I can understand the lack of requirement for music education in high school, but there is absolutely no excuse, IMO, especially in Catholic and other Christian schools (Protestant) for not having music (and other arts) taught in elementary school from Kindergarten through at least the 5th grade, and ideally, into Middle School as the boys (and girls, too, to a lesser extent) experience puberty and the “change” in their voices.
What we are seeing in churches, IMO, is the result of no music education, or inadequate music education. E.g., in several of the schools in my former city, the schoolchildren were learning to sing “Hip Hop” music and rap music, and bypassing the traditional music education that teaches them how to read a music score and how to sing in parts (usually only 2 parts in 5th through 8th grades in part because most of the boys have unchanged voices or are beginning to experience the awkwardness of voice change).
Thankfully, there are areas of the U.S. that still value music education and offer various music opportunities in the community. E.g., in my hometown, there is a Music Academy where many children and teens (especially those who are home-schooled) learn to sing and also play various musical instruments. Also, there are local community choirs that children and/or teens can join. The problem with these is that they generally cost a lot of money, which means that many children and teens do not have the financial resources to access these sources of music education. There are scholarships available, but these are not abundant, and are generally awarded to promising students, not just children and teens who want to sing in a choir. Sometimes churches offer children’s and teen choirs–African American churches generally do this with great success, and speaking of that, has anyone noticed how many talented musical superstars are African American in the U.S.–and most of them will tell fans that they got their musical start in CHURCH!?
We are short-changing our children and teens by not offering children’s and teens choirs in our parishes–thank goodness, some parishes still give children and teens the opportunity to sing in a choir at the Masses, but many don’t. I am not a certified music teacher, but I’ve had a lot of experience with children and music and have also written children’s songs (not published). I’m also a very good accompanist (piano). There are a lot of people in churches and parishes who are capable of leading a children’s or even teen choir, even if the singers just sing in unison.
My personal opinion is that without children’s and teen choirs, we will continue to see Mass music decline in quality and participation. Some people mistakenly blame the “banal” or “heretical” songs in the missalettes, and although I agree that we need to take a serious look at our missalettes and eliminate quite a few of the hymns that have questionable words or awkward tunes (with large intervals which are difficult to sin), but the silence that occurs in the congregation during the Mass hymns has more to do with lack of ability to read a musical line and sing on pitch in a head voice (not an octave below the score that makes the singing “growly”!)–skills that most children and teens (and adults, too!) are generally capable of doing with a little instruction. Of course, although I hate to suggest it, but I also think many adults believe that the Mass music just slows the Mass down and prevents them from enjoying their Sunday off work, hence their willingness to attend a Mass that has no music at all.
Shame on us for neglecting the praise of our God in our singing and playing of musical instruments during Mass! Psalm 150–maybe it should become a “Project” for Catholic parishes in the U.S.A!
I’ve sung in choirs all my life and have never sung the Regina Coeli.
You can bet I’ve looked it up now!
Singing the Regina Caeli is like experiencing a bit of Heaven. The tone, the Latin, and knowing it’s honoring the Queen of Heaven adds that special ‘umph’ to it. Plus, the Regina Caeli takes the place of the Angelus during the Easter Season.
The Regina Coeli (Caeli?) takes the place of the Angelus during the Easter season? Didn’t know that either.
Still so much to learn, so little time!