(that's him in the glasses, with his schola.)
Posted on 09/29/2014 3:22:54 PM PDT by marshmallow
The forced resignation of a Catholic church music director who married his longtime same-sex partner apparently won’t be challenged in court.
Jamie Moore, who was music director at St. Victoria Parish Catholic Church for more than 17 years before he quit at the request of church leaders, decided Friday not to pursue legal action against Archbishop John Nienstedt, according to his former lawyer.
“I think he was in a very good position to challenge the termination because of the reason that was given, and that was marital status,” Clayton Halunen said Sunday, explaining that Minnesota churches are allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation but not on marital status.
“I’m very disappointed in the decision,” Halunen added. “I think if had we had a favorable result … it would have helped many others in the LGBT community to preserve their employment if they choose to get married.”
Moore could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Weekend masses at St. Victoria included comments from the Rev. Bob White about Moore’s departure, which the pastor said was like losing a loved one. “It’s a deep loss,” he told the Carver County congregation at a 10:45 a.m. mass. White called Moore his friend and the “voice of the church.”
White explained the process that led to Moore’s resignation and expressed his hope that the congregation would come together. He received a standing ovation as he left the podium to begin the mass.
Parishioner Celeste Brausen said she was pained to hear Moore will no longer be with the church.
”I hope the church can find a way to welcome everyone,” she said. ”That’s the way the Catholic Church should be.”
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
People should learn an interesting word: REPENT
I should hope SO! And just who is it that's doing this "allowing?" A church doesn't need to consult anyone except the Almighty for its rules.
““I think he was in a very good position to challenge the termination because of the reason that was given, and that was marital status,” Clayton Halunen said Sunday, explaining that Minnesota churches are allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation but not on marital status.”
He was going to lose. The Dogma of the Church trumps his own personal proclivity and that includes marriage.
For how long the Church can do this, I don’t know. It just depends on the wreckers in the judiciary and the willingness of our Bishops, and there are some courageous ones, to fight.
I’m old-fashioned; I never even HEARD of a Catholic music director.
I so dislike priests like this who turn over the mass to the "music directors", 999 times out of 1,000 it means blah sermons, so more time can be given over to a 10th rate organist and a 12th rate singer to give their interpretations of classic church hymns. It's worse than the way a lot of singers mangle the national anthem, but not quite as bad as the guitar masses of the 80's.
Most Catholic priests have absolutely no musical education or ability at all. The younger ones, the John Paul II/ Benedict generation, are better, but not by much.
They have to learn it on their own because the seminaries teach absolutely nothing about the great Catholic music heritage. So most of them don't.
In contrast, the Episcopalians may be heretics, but at least the seminaries teach them about their music (most of which they stole from us. But, we weren't using it . . . ) So their music is excellent even though their theology is completely loony.
When a musically ignorant priest interferes in the music, it's worse than useless. You wind up with happy-clappy garbage like "Here I Am, Lord" (a/k/a "Here's your pizza") or the execrable maunderings of the likes of Bernadette Farrell or the St. Louie Jebbies. 1500 years of Palestrina, Tallis, Byrd, St. Gregory the Great, Josquin . . . and they all seem to be stuck in the 70s and 80s (a musical low point if ever there was one.)
A priest's job (unless he has a music degree like Msgr. Pope in the Archdiocese of D.C.) is to hire a good music director with appropriate credentials and a firm grasp of real Catholic music . . . then stand back and let the big dog run.
Well, they used to be called Choirmasters or Masters of the Chapel, although usually they had an official Canonry. They go way, way back . . . at least to the 14th century in France and the Netherlands, and further than that in Italy.
(that's him in the glasses, with his schola.)
I view this from the Episcopal side of the equation, but either way, I can’t find a single word of yours to disagree with.
Oh, God. Spare me.
And a good portion of these music directors are exactly like this one, and live with their "good friends". Not all but a good portion.
Oh, well, if we’re talking about Medieval - how more cultural the church was then than most modern Catholic churches today. King Richard 3 hunted the country for the best musicians for his church choirs.
I was talking about my own experiences in the American Catholic church when almost no emphasis was put on choral music. And the occasional nun ran the show - not a hired musical director.
Thanks for the lovely pictures!!
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