Maybe “All are Welcome” after all.

Less than a week after it took effect, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, rescinded his decree that blacklisted a dozen liturgical hymns of usage in the diocese, the most popular of which was Marty Haugen’s “All Are Welcome,” the diocese told the National Catholic Reporter on November 6.

Instead, McKnight issued a new executive order calling for a consultative process in the selection of liturgical music for the Diocese of Central Missouri. The new decree, issued Nov. 5, took effect immediately and will remain in effect for a year on an experimental basis until musicians and liturgists in the diocese can discuss it.

The short-lived decree, “Suggested Mass Settings and Prohibited Hymns,” also named three composers whose music should not be performed in the diocese due to credible allegations of sexual abuse against them.

“The decision to ban specific songs and composers led to heated discussion, including on social media, as well as stories and opinions shared in some Catholic media outlets outside the diocese,” McKnight told his diocesan newspaper: The Catholic Missourianin a draft article emailed to NCR ahead of publication.

An earlier news article exposing the hymnal blacklist was removed from the Catholic Missouria website on November 2. Diocesan spokesman Jacob Luecke said the article was removed so it could be updated with information about the new decree.

McKnight’s new decree recognized that the repealed version did not live up to the Catholic Church’s synodal initiative to include laity, or non-clergy, in some decision-making. On October 26, just days before the blacklist was released in Jefferson City, the Vatican released the blacklist. final document resulting from the triennial consultation of Pope Francis on the future of the Catholic Church, calling for greater participation of lay members.

“It is now clear that a genuinely synodal process of greater consultation did not take place prior to its promulgation,” McKnight said in his new decree.

In the Catholic Missourian’s draft article, McKnight acknowledged that there had been a strong reaction in the diocese to the list of banned hymns.

“It’s inspiring to see such passion and enthusiasm for the music that animate our Catholic liturgies,” he said. “Whenever we see this kind of fervor among the faithful, our Church gives us the ideal way to respond: a synodal response.”

The turnaround was remarkable given that the original document was years in the making before its October 28 publication in a weekly chancery bulletin. Eight days later, the original decree, “Suggested Mass Settings and Prohibited Hymns,” was issued. A new project has been set up, entitled “Promoting active participation in the liturgy through sacred music”.

The new decree does not mention any banned anthems. Although the ban on music by composers credibly accused of sexual abuse will remain in effect, it does not name any specific composer. The decree specifies that a list of these composers will be kept by the diocese and updated “from time to time”.

In the original decree, McKnight stated: “It is strictly forbidden to use any hymns of these composers in the celebration of any liturgies in the Diocese of Jefferson City.” » This is done, he said, “to prevent scandal from spoiling this beautiful celebration. of the Eucharist.”

One element of the new decree requires parishes to become familiar with four sung masses. “He emphasized that parishes are not limited to four Masses,” Fr. Daniel Merz, a pastor in Columbia, Missouri, who chairs the diocesan liturgical commission, said in the draft diocesan news article. “We’re just saying, ‘Please be familiar with this.’ “

One of the settings for the mass is Bob Hurd’s bilingual “Misa del Pueblo Inmigrante” (“Immigrant Mass”), a song from which was on the banned list in McKnight’s now-rescinded decree. Another setting is a revised version of Haugen’s “Mass of Creation”, whose new lyrics reflect the texts of the 2010 General instruction on the Roman missal.

The new decree still builds on the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine’s 2020 document: “The Catholic hymn in the service of the Church: help in evaluating the words of hymns“, the publication of which was approved by the Administrative Committee of Bishops.

The bishops’ 2020 document cites six criteria for determining that a hymn may be unsuitable: deficiencies in the presentation of the Eucharistic doctrine, or the Trinitarian doctrine, or in the doctrine of God and His relationship with humans. Also among the areas of concern are “a view of the Church that sees it primarily as a human construct,” a doctrinally incorrect view of the Jewish people, or an incorrect Christian anthropology.

The synodal process outlined in Jefferson City’s new decree will involve leadership of the diocesan chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musiciansa group of members of the American Catholic Church.