Keys for Understanding the Musical Magisterium of Pope Saint John Paul II: Between a Retrospective Look and the Post-conciliar Challenges
Keys for Understanding the Musical Magisterium of Pope Saint John Paul II: Between a Retrospective Look and the Post-conciliar Challenges

Summary/Abstract: The pontificate of Saint John Paul II (1978–2005) was prolific in speeches and homilieson liturgical music, delivered on the occasion of different celebrations and events of musicalassociations and institutes. This article tries to expose in a systematic way, based on thesetexts, the main lines of the Pope’s theological thought, as well as the recurring themes, theconcerns about the abusive practices of the moment and the main practical provisions. Allthis without losing sight of the uniqueness of a context marked by the application of thepost-conciliar liturgical reform and the challenges it entailed. The author underlines Pope’sconsideration of music as a sector of “vital importance” in the spiritual life of the Church,and his thought as a part of wider reflection on beauty as a visible expression of the goodand on art, as a transcendent language and “path that leads to Christian perfection”.

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