Every year during the Christmas season the local Anglican Cathedral has numerous classical music groups and choirs in to sing carols and whatnot. To be clear, this isn't  Morning or Evenprayer, or any other Anglican service, just classical music which happens to take place in their Cathedral. Is it permissible to attend?

You shoud check that with a Traditional priest. If it were me I wouldn't attend, but again you should seek guidance from a Traditional priest on that.

This attitude is almost rabbinical. Very reminiscent of Jєωs spitting every time they see a cross.

Can you explain why you wouldn't attend?

Edit:

To answer Canuk's question, there is nothing wrong with attending. You do not need to ask a priest. Enjoy the music!

Vladimir might have a point. It is just classical music that is being played - not their religious music. If we can't participate in hearing classical music with Protestants, then we could also say that we can't interact with Protestants at all in this world.

But I must admit there is a bit of uneasiness that I would feel in the fact that the classical music is held in their church. But when one travels to England and visits all the Protestant cathedrals that are tourist destinations would that be wrong also.

Logic tells me there is nothing wrong since you are participating in a non-religious activity in their church but my heart at the same time still makes me feel uneasy being in a place of worship of Protestants. A quick in and out would be different than sitting there for an hour or two.

So, in summary - Maybe yes, maybe no. Ask a priest just in case.

There is also the consideration of whether the money made from ticket sales to the classical concert will go to the Protestant church. If that is the case, then I would say don't attend because you are putting more money in their pocket to teach and spread their heresies.

While consulting a priest in matters of faith is a good thing to do, the question that Canuk raised does not require a priest to settle. To ask a priest would simply be wasting his time.

"SS" said that he wouldn't attend based on the grounds that the concert would be held in a Protestant building. You cannot become "infected" by Protestantism by sitting inside a building while listening to classical music. Heresy is not like a physically contagious disease. I wonder if "SS" would object to listening to Handel or Bach because you might get brainwashed by Protestantism?

Of course, there is nothing wrong with avoiding Protestant churches, but to feel like one is being spiritually assaulted when one simply walks inside one without the intent to participate in their worship is just  pious paranoia.

Indeed, if you look back a few years ago, I posted my own utter disgust at just having walked into a Protestant church...well skip forward a few years and who knows how many Protestant churches later and the reaction is quite different. It's just a building. Obviously, my attitude towards Protestantism has not changed.


This is a "Traditional Catholic Forum". The posts of the members should form a picture of traditional Catholicism to at least some extent. However, "SpiritusSanctus"'s (and to SS - yes, sorry for putting your name in quotations once again) post is not an accurate picture - i.e., avoiding a concert simply because it is being held in a protestant church. There's no doubt he has purity of intention, and his zeal for souls is admirable. Unfortunately, this can be at times a misguided zeal.

In the past, and possibly in the present, there have been underage posters on this forum whose parents harbor some suspicion against traditional Catholicism and have read the posts on this forum to form the basis of their assesment of it; whereupon the said poster(s) have been deprived of the sacraments because of the sometimes misguided, but I would like to believe well-intentioned, opinions of forum members.

Edit:

While the comparison to Fisheaters seems unwarranted, I will say in my own defense that I do not consider myself a "neo-trad" and that I believe you would be pressed to find any evidence to support that accusation. Also, because "SS" incessantly claims that I believe that active participation in Protestant worship is OK, I will say once more that I hold to the Church's teaching on this and do not presume to follow my own fancy in this matter.

To the OP:

I think you should ask a good Priest.

Listening to the music is fine, Listening with the Protestants is fine, the questionable acts would be:

1)Is is scandalous to enter a Protestant church? Are you legitamizing them? Does it make others believe you are supporting them?

2) Are you supporting them with money? Do they make money from you? Is your money going to be used to support their heresies?

These are the questions that make myself and others recommend talking to a Priest, we would never be so bold as to affirm or deny it to you offhand.

My point is that the question warrants no uncertainty, as its answer can be easily surmised through a brief exercise of common sense.

You certainly aren't using any common sense if you think you should go ahead and do it without atleast checking it with a Traditional priest. I also notice you didn't respond to any of my other points. Typical....

1) While this may or may not be the case, many concerts are advertised as "open to the public" (if they are not, one would not hear of them!) and therefore there is no scandal. Does going to a concert on a college campus legitimize whatever is taught on campus?

It very well could, it depends on the place. The Church Militant pre-vatican 2 used to boycott places for any offense to God.

2) Even monetary support does not seem sinful on this occasion, since it is is payment to attend a public event. Is it sinful to pay for a movie ticket or for admission into a fair, etc?

Once again it very well could, I doubt it's mortal, but we should avoid all sins, mortal and venial. Once again the Church Militant would boycott every movie in a theatre if they put even one scandalous movie up to watch. That dosn't mean they'd boycott the movie, they'd boycott EVERY movie at that place. That is why during the 50's most movie theatres would not show scandalous film and why the Church had a censor for movies up until V2.

Think of how much better the world would be right now if that was still the case.

John Vennari of Catholic Family News had a conference at my Chapel 7 or so months ago, where he gave 2 lectures, one of them was on the Church Militant pre-V2.

Prior to the Vatican Two Revolution, the common Catholic practice was to avoid going into Protestant churches except for grave reasons.

Of course communicatio in sacris is a mortal sin, no matter where it takes place, but that is an issue that is sometimes unrelated to the issue of entering Prot churches, because communicatio in sacris is mortally sinful no matter where it takes place.