Artistic activity in the Church and ecclesiastical norms 1

Artistic activity in the Church and ecclesiastical norms 2

Artistic activity is appropriate to man and to the Church, which from its beginnings has welcomed artistic manifestations into its midst. In turn, when they are intended for liturgical worship, the Church intervenes to dignify them and avoid abuse and profane elements that do not suit the purpose of sacred art. "The Church has always considered itself, rightly, as the arbiter of them, discerning, among the works of artists, those that were in accordance with faith, piety and traditional religious laws and that were considered suitable for sacred use" (Council Vatican II, Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 122). Thus, she takes positions regarding both music (see Gregorian Chant) and figurative arts (see Iconoclasts).

The Council of Trent (25th century) issued a Decree - coming out against the iconoclastic heresy of the Calvinists - establishing once again the traditional meaning that the representation of images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and the other saints, and also highlighted the value of the catechetical instruction that the stories of the mysteries of our redemption, represented in paintings and other reproductions, imply, at the same time that he condemned abuses, so that "no image of false dogma is exposed" (Denz . Sch. 1821-1825).

Successively, the ecclesiastical hierarchy has made interventions to dignify sacred art, given not only prohibitions (e.g. the one decreed by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, of June 11, 1623, which prohibited the representation of the crucified Christ with his arms towards the high) but has also given concrete guidance on different manifestations of sacred art. Along these lines is the motu proprio of sacred music by Saint Pius X, dated November 22, 1902.

On the other hand, the Code of Canon Law contained different provisions on the construction of Churches (Can. 485, 1.162, 1.164), on images (Can. 1.2791.280, 1.385.3°), on liturgical utensils (can. 1,296, 3), about the tabernacle (can. 1,268, 1,269), about music (can 1,264), about the custody and surveillance of artistic heritage (can. 1,497, 1,522, 1,523), etc.

The Encyclical Mediator Dei gives valuable indications on sacred music and the arts in general in liturgical worship: «Modern images and forms... should not be despised or prohibited in general due to mere prejudices, but it is absolutely necessary that, adopting a balanced middle ground between a servile realism and an exaggerated symbolism, with a view to benefiting the Christian community that, according to the artist's personal taste and criteria, modern art has a free field, so that it also serves, within reverence and decorum due to liturgical places and acts... On the other hand... we feel compelled to reprove and condemn certain images and forms recently introduced by some who, with their extravagance and aesthetic degeneration, clearly combine offense more than once with decorum, piety and modesty Christian, and offend the same religious feeling, all of this must be removed and exiled absolutely from our Churches, and in general, everything that denies the sanctity of the place" (Pius XII, Enc. Mediator Deí, 20 Nov. 1947, 193-194).
Subsequently, many other pontifical documents came to refer in one way or another to sacred art, mainly to music (cf. Pope Pius XII, Instruction of the Holy Office on sacred art, 30 June 1952; íd, Enc. Musica sacrae disciplinae , 25 Dec. 1955; id, Instruction of the S. Cong. of Rites on Sacred Music and Liturgy, 3 Sept. 1958, etc.).