Attention Music Lovers!

Here is a little paragraph from Pius VI on the sometimes revolutionary effects of music, even before the days of Rock n' Roll!

The National Assembly also descended to the level of regulating the music in Churches. Pius VI observed that dating back to the time of Charlemagne the Church had been attempting to regularize and universalize the singing of Chant in Churches. This kind of singing nourishes piety, excites devotion, and helps the faithful to better fulfill their religious duties (209-213). And so, the Assembly sought to destroy, suppress, and abolish chant, following the example of anti-Catholic revolutionaries throughout the history of the Church (213). The Church had frequently spoken in strong words in favor of preserving chant: “those who think that the chant of psalms is foreign to divine cult ought to be banished from the womb of the Church…. These innovators are in perfect accord with their chief, that is the Prince of darkness, the cause of all iniquities, who seeks to denature, and to corrupt the meaning of the holy writings by evil interpretations” (215). In fact, the Church saw chant as related to the number of vocations that came to the Church (215).