Missouri diocese opens sacred music consultation process after hymn ‘bans’ rescinded

 

CNA Staff, Feb 6, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, has opened a new yearlong “synodal” consultation process on sacred music after a now-rescinded decree from the bishop last fall banning certain hymns from Mass led to a flurry of debate in the diocese and elsewhere.

In a late January letter, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight said the goal of the process is a new, permanent decree on sacred music with the goal of fostering unity among the people of the diocese and encourage greater participation in the liturgy in accordance with Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s document on the sacred liturgy.

“My hope is that everyone in our diocese feels called to participate in the sacred music of our Masses and other liturgies. However, I recognize there can be obstacles that make it difficult or impossible for this to happen. For example, when the song is unfamiliar it can be hard to sing along. And when a song is in a language that is not our own, it can be even more challenging,” McKnight wrote.

“Music composed by individuals who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse brings more significant obstacles. There is real concern about what is conveyed to our community — especially to survivors of abuse — when we continue to use the works of such composers.”

Just as important, the bishop continued, is the “doctrinal appropriateness” of hymns sung at Mass.

“Music has a unique power to shape our understanding of the faith. The texts we sing must not only be lyrically and melodically beautiful but also theologically brilliant with depth of meaning, reflecting the magnificent truths of our Catholic faith,” he wrote.

As part of the consultation process, Catholics in the Jefferson City Diocese are encouraged to fill out an online survey being conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), and attend one of a series of listening sessions taking place across the diocese beginning on Feb. 15.

Information gathered from the surveys and listening sessions will help the diocesan Liturgical Commission formulate a draft of an updated official decree on sacred music in the diocese, the Catholic Missourian reported.

“I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks through all members of the Church. It is essential that we listen to one another through honest dialogue where we can explore these difficult issues together and not simply by asserting one’s preferences. I invite each of you to participate wholeheartedly in this process, sharing your thoughts, experiences, and prayers,” McKnight wrote.

Why is the consultation happening?

In his original decree last October, McKnight listed a dozen commonly used contemporary hymns that were to be “absolutely forbidden” in the diocese after Nov. 1, 2024.

The list included commonly-sung songs such as “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen, “God Has Chosen Me” by Bernadette Farrell, “Led By the Spirit” by Bob Hurd, and “Table of Plenty” by Dan Schutte. The decree also forbade the use of any music composed by David Haas, Cesaréo Gabarain, and Ed Conlin, specifically due to credible accusations of abuse against them.

In addition to laying out the banned hymns and composers, the decree laid out four Mass settings approved for use in the diocese and with which every parish should “become familiar.”

The decree was spurred by a set of 2020 guidelines from the U.S. bishops, “Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church,” which lays out criteria for evaluating whether hymns sung at Mass are accurately conveying the truths that Catholics believe. That document warned that hymns conveying an inaccurate or incomplete theology can distort Catholics’ understanding of key doctrines, particularly the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

After observing what he described as a “spirited discussion” in the media, on social media, and within his diocese following the original decree, McKnight wrote in a subsequent Nov. 5 decree that “it is now clear that an authentically synodal process of greater consultation did not occur prior to its promulgation.”

The original decree “sparked intense discussion both within our diocese and across national media and social networks,” McKnight commented in his most recent letter from January.

“While this attention was not expected, it was inspiring to witness the passion and enthusiasm people bring to the conversation about sacred music in our Church. Whenever such fervor is present among the faithful, our Church provides us with a good way to respond — through a synodal process of discernment.”

Pointing to Pope Francis’ emphasis on “synodality” — the pontiff’s call for the whole Church, including laypeople, to collaboratively seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer, listening, dialogue, and openness — McKnight promised in November to order a new, “more comprehensive” process to determine which hymns are appropriate and which are not.

The diocesan liturgical commission will be tasked with gathering feedback from musicians, music ministers, and “everyone else who has a perspective on the music used in liturgies across the diocese” by August 2025. The process will also involve the leaders of the diocesan chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, a membership organization for Catholic music ministers.

“Together, guided by the Holy Spirit, we can ensure that our sacred music remains a source of unity that uplifts our souls, deepens our faith, and brings us closer to the sacred mysteries we celebrate,” McKnight concluded.