As an advocate for the ongoing use of the more traditional forms of the Roman Rite, I thought I would post this extract of an article (published originally in Zenit) for comment. The Mass Isn't Entertainment, Says Cardinal Arinze... The Mass is a moment of reflection and encounter with God, rather than a form of entertainment, says Cardinal Francis Arinze. In an interview with Inside the Vatican magazine, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments made a comprehensive assessment of the recent Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist and of developments in liturgical practice 40 years after the Second Vatican Council. Regarding "music in the liturgy, we should start by saying that Gregorian music is the Church's precious heritage," he said. "It should stay. It should not be banished. If therefore in a particular diocese or country, no one hears Gregorian music anymore, then somebody has made a mistake somewhere." However, "the Church is not saying that everything should be Gregorian music," the cardinal clarified. "There is room for music which respects that language, that culture, that people. There is room for that too, and the present books say that is a matter for the bishops' conference, because it generally goes beyond the boundaries of one diocese. "The ideal thing is that the bishops would have a liturgical music commission which looks at the wording and the music of the hymns. And when the commission is satisfied, judgment is brought to the bishops for approval, in the name of the rest of the conference." What should not be the case, insists the Nigerian cardinal, is "individuals just composing anything and singing it in church. This is not right at all -- no matter how talented the individual is. That brings us to the question of the instruments to be used. "The local church should be conscious that church worship is not really the same as what we sing in a bar, or what we sing in a convention for youth. Therefore it should influence the type of instrument used, the type of music used." Suitability "I will not now pronounce and say never guitar; that would be rather severe," Cardinal Arinze added. "But much of guitar music may not be suitable at all for the Mass. Yet, it is possible to think of some guitar music that would be suitable, not as the ordinary one we get every time, [but with] the visit of a special group, etc." "The judgment would be left to the bishops of the area. It is wiser that way," he pointed out. "Also, because there are other instruments in many countries which are not used in Italy or in Ireland, for instance. "People don't come to Mass in order to be entertained. They come to Mass to adore God, to thank him, to ask pardon for sins, and to ask for other things that they need." "When they want entertainment, they know where to go -- parish hall, theatre, presuming that their entertainment is acceptable from a moral theological point of view," added the cardinal. This section of the article, which centres on liturgical music, I find to be quite balanced and, dare I say, middle of the road. The good cardinal speaks of authority and responsibility being given to comities of local bishops conferences, liturgical commissions and the like. However, we in the west have for long now felt the ill effects of such bodies. One only has to thick of the so called hymnal 'Gather Australia' for an example the 'dictatorship of bad taste' imposed as the norm. It's no wonder that guitar slinging aged hippies have turn away from the transandenaly established (hierarchical) church in favour of do-it-yourself compositions. Unfortunately the local church has not bean conscious that church worship is not really the same as what we sing in a bar. I know from experience that your average Catholic above the age of 35 imagines that Gregorian chant is some thing exclusively attached to the old Latin Mass, and thus redundant. On the other hand, many Catholic's under the age of 35 would never have experienced chant in relation to the Mass at all (they may have heard it mixed in with techno music or in the background to pornographic movies). Thus, we have a crisis, most are denied a participation in this, the Church's most precious heritage. Please comment...