Christian music

[vluvski]

I am from the school of thought that, while not all genres are appropriate for liturgy, no spcific style of music is evil in and of itself. My husband is a huge fan of Christian rock, especially hard rock, and even writes his own music and lyrics. I am kind of a music snob and even I think they’re good.

Recently, some friends of ours mentioned a “recent” statement by Pope Benedict stating that ALL rock music is “inherently disordering” and “antithetical” to Catholic spirituality. These same friends also insisted that another theologian claims that Christian rock is a fake, that the two are directly opposed.

1. Does anyone know what statement these friends might have been referring to? I found something to that effect, but it was released by Pope Benedict years ago, long before he became pope.
2. Is there any additional reading you can offer about rock music’s effect on spirituality, and especially something that addresses the fact that many artists put a lot of prayer into their Christian music and that these songs have brought many to Christ.

As my husband put it, he is willing to submit to authoritative teaching on this matter, but feels like he would be “giving up something that really makes him closer to God.”

 

[FCEGM]

I am from the school of thought that, while not all genres are appropriate for liturgy, no spcific style of music is evil in and of itself. My husband is a huge fan of Christian rock, especially hard rock, and even writes his own music and lyrics. I am kind of a music snob and even I think they’re good.

Recently, some friends of ours mentioned a “recent” statement by Pope Benedict stating that ALL rock music is “inherently disordering” and “antithetical” to Catholic spirituality. These same friends also insisted that another theologian claims that Christian rock is a fake, that the two are directly opposed.

1. Does anyone know what statement these friends might have been referring to? I found something to that effect, but it was released by Pope Benedict years ago, long before he became pope.
2. Is there any additional reading you can offer about rock music’s effect on spirituality, and especially something that addresses the fact that many artists put a lot of prayer into their Christian music and that these songs have brought many to Christ.

As my husband put it, he is willing to submit to authoritative teaching on this matter, but feels like he would be “giving up something that really makes him closer to God.”

You might find these articles on liturgical music helpful:

adoremus.org/Musictoc.html

 

[vluvski]

Thanks for the links. The info on liturgical music was very interesting.
Does anyone else have some reading on music in general and its effect on spirituality?
Can anyone provide a link to the full text of the pope’s statement back when he was still a cardinal?

 

[puzzleannie]

the recent article in question was linked on spiritdaily.com within the last month, and referred to comments Cd. Ratzinger made years ago on an occassion when Bob Dylan was slated to perform at some function in Rome (after he, BD had become a “Christian” performer). The article headlined the comments as if they were recent news and a papal proclamation which they were not. they have an archives, you may find the link and see if it still works, plus the article was linked here (probably Catholic news forum) and discussed at the time.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I wonder if Pope Benedict would have a problem with Tony Melendez, who played guitar with his toes at World Youth Day, in Colorado years ago? I remember Pope John Paul II jumping off the stage to go and embrace Tony and told him how inspirational he is to all of us. Somehow I don’t see the same attitude in Pope Benedict.

Jim

 

[Faithful2]

I am from the school of thought that, while not all genres are appropriate for liturgy, no spcific style of music is evil in and of itself. My husband is a huge fan of Christian rock, especially hard rock, and even writes his own music and lyrics. I am kind of a music snob and even I think they’re good.

Recently, some friends of ours mentioned a “recent” statement by Pope Benedict stating that ALL rock music is “inherently disordering” and “antithetical” to Catholic spirituality. These same friends also insisted that another theologian claims that Christian rock is a fake, that the two are directly opposed.

1. Does anyone know what statement these friends might have been referring to? I found something to that effect, but it was released by Pope Benedict years ago, long before he became pope.
2. Is there any additional reading you can offer about rock music’s effect on spirituality, and especially something that addresses the fact that many artists put a lot of prayer into their Christian music and that these songs have brought many to Christ.

As my husband put it, he is willing to submit to authoritative teaching on this matter, but feels like he would be “giving up something that really makes him closer to God.”

.

There’s an article online that has a lot of amswers for you – references to Pope Benedict’s original statements, plus recent statements by **Bishop Morlino **on liturgical music. The article can be found at the Oremus website, with the some original documents and links from (then) Cardinal Ratzinger and from Pope John Paul II. See oremusmusic.net/rock_music.php . Hope this helps.

 

[vluvski]

Faithful2, that’s EXACTLY what I needed. I had already (finally!) found Cardinal Ratzinger’s original comments, but the link to the more recent statement is new to me.

Thank you!!!