Concerts in Toronto's Catholic Churches

View from 4:50

Angelica and the Three Tenors at St. Michael's Cathedral

Between this blog and Toronto Catholic Witness the last week has been dedicated to exposing the abuse of our sacred spaces -- our sanctuaries dedicated to the worship of God turned into "venues" and "facilities" to say nothing of cabarets and concerts halls to pagan goddesses.

To be brief, based on the instructions of St. Pius X, Pope Pius XI, Ven. Paul VI and the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments issued a Protocol, 1251/87, on the matter of concerts in churches.

Essentially, the Blessed Sacrament must be in repose in a chapel, there must be no ticket - only a voluntary collection may be taken, the music must be sacred and there must be no performers in the sanctuary nor may the altar, ambo or chair be used for anything. For more details or to read the entire document it can be found at Adoremus.

In about thirty minutes, I as able to put a list together of dozens of concerts including the Angelica, the Three Tenors, The Priests, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Tallis Choir, the Victoria Scholars, Toronto Chamber Choir and many others. All were commercial ventures and some with ticket prices of up to $50. Some were all sacred music and some a mixture of sacred and secular. All were in the sanctuaries. In the case of St. Paul's Baslica on 96.3FM and Salt + Light, it was referred to as a "great facility." St. Patrick's on McCaul Street is referred to as a venue. A document was sent to the Chancery Office for Spiritual Affairs today listing over a dozen concerts, some of a commercial nature listed on the Archdiocese of Toronto's own web page and even in the Catholic Register newspaper.

In consultation with those at Toronto Catholic Witness, we have decided not to let this matter rest until such time as a clearly defined policy in accord with the Protocol is restored and articulated for public consumption.

It seems that the light on this matter is starting to pay off as is being reported by Barona on Witness:

Monday, April 15, 2013

BREAKING NEWS: Archdiocese of Toronto will be re-issuing Policy on Concerts in Churches

The Archdiocese of Toronto will be re-issuing and enforcing the Policy on Concerts in Churches by the late Cardinal Ambrozic. The Policy was never abrogated.  My inside source informed me that all parishes will be formally notified next week; with publication of the document on the Archdiocese's website to follow soon after. 

This re-issuance was deemed necessary after ongoing and prolonged violation of norms by local pastors that was being brought to the notice of the Archbishop's Office. 

More to follow after the formal publication.