Liberationist Perspectives on the Misa Criolla by Ariél Ramírez

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is a very interesting topic. The strength is in the discussion of the Missa Criolla, the weakness relates to the ordering of the historical and theological material.

The opening sentence of the abstract says that this Mass is ‘a symbol of liberation theology’. It is appropriate to offer a liberationist reading of this composition but, as it predates liberation theology, this is not a good opening sentence.

Before the historical section in section 1, it would be good to include an introduction to the Missa Criolla and the composer.

The ordering of the historical material needs to be examined. One section covering the history of colonization would suffice. Most of section 6 deals with the colonization of Latin America and papal involvement, so this should merge into one historical section. Stronger academic references are needed for the sweep of history that is being covered. The website Doctrine of Discovery is an important one, but it is not an academic site for a peer-reviewed journal article.

Footnote 9 is empty, but it relates to the section dealing with inculturation. This whole area is very complex and needs a deeper discussion than one dependent on one source.

There is interesting material in section 5, but its ordering needs work. Begin by introducing the documents of Vatican II mentioned, then introduce liberation theology briefly, then move to the links between liberation theology and the vernacular Masses. The opposition discussed in section 8 should be moved to this section and not placed after the discussion of Fratelli Tutti.

Section 7: it is good to see the engagement with Fratelli Tutti, but also develop why it links with Missa Criolla. It would be worth looking at Querida Amazonia and see the enduring relevance of the Missa Criolla in light of this.

This is an interesting article on an important topic, but the ordering of the material needs to considered, and the referencing of the sweeping historical sections needs to be strengthened.

 

Author Response

This is a very interesting topic. The strength is in the discussion of the Missa Criolla, the weakness relates to the ordering of the historical and theological material.

Agreed. I made lots of changes.

The opening sentence of the abstract says that this Mass is ‘a symbol of liberation theology’. It is appropriate to offer a liberationist reading of this composition but, as it predates liberation theology, this is not a good opening sentence.

Agreed. I took it out.

Before the historical section in section 1, it would be good to include an introduction to the Missa Criolla and the composer.

This was very helpful.

The ordering of the historical material needs to be examined. One section covering the history of colonization would suffice. Most of section 6 deals with the colonization of Latin America and papal involvement, so this should merge into one historical section. Stronger academic references are needed for the sweep of history that is being covered. The website Doctrine of Discovery is an important one, but it is not an academic site for a peer-reviewed journal article.

Agreed. I made the changes and found a stronger source.

Footnote 9 is empty, but it relates to the section dealing with inculturation. This whole area is very complex and needs a deeper discussion than one dependent on one source.

Agreed. I found stronger sources.

There is interesting material in section 5, but its ordering needs work. Begin by introducing the documents of Vatican II mentioned, then introduce liberation theology briefly, then move to the links between liberation theology and the vernacular Masses. The opposition discussed in section 8 should be moved to this section and not placed after the discussion of Fratelli Tutti.

Agreed. I made the changes.

Section 7: it is good to see the engagement with Fratelli Tutti, but also develop why it links with Missa Criolla. It would be worth looking at Querida Amazonia and see the enduring relevance of the Missa Criolla in light of this.

This was a great recommendation. Agreed.

Reviewer 2 Report

The idea of the paper is really remarkable and highly original: placing Ramírez's "Misa Criolla," a Spanish-language setting of the Catholic Mass including indigenous instruments in the larger context of post-Vatican II and especially the Catholic Liberation Theology of South America. However, the clarity of the execution needs quite a bit of work. I would rework this by adding more background information on 1) Liberation Theology (who are its major writers/practioners; what is its relationship to the overall post-Vatican II moment; how does it fit longer trends/issues in South/Central American Catholicism) and 2) the specifics of the musical history: who is Ramírez; a little more about the setting of the Mass in other languages; what made Ramírez's setting particularly successful or important. Then, the conclusions and the description of how there are "liberationist ideas of the localized Masses" (8) will become clearer. Thus, after adding more context on these two issues, the conclusion itself can be sharper. How (what) are these liberationist ideas, and how exactly are they expressed in the localized Masses? Through the vernacular language alone? Through specific musical elements? Through their reception? More clarity is needed here. 

On the other hand, I would elminate some of the larger background. The connections to early modern just war theory or the Papal Bulls is the section on page 5 are not clear. While these elements factor into the long history of Catholic Christianity in the Americas, the connection isn't clearly made. I would suggest more context on Liberation Theology itself and less on the distant background. 

Finally, I am very interested in your claim about the "incarnational implications" of the local Masses. This is a striking detail with important theoretical and theological possibilities. Is this something you see in Liberation Theology more broadly? Or in existing literature about vernacular and the music of the Mass? This is a concrete example of how giving more background on both Liberation Theology and the music will bring out the most interesting and compelling aspects of this very original idea and argument.

Author Response

The idea of the paper is really remarkable and highly original: placing Ramírez's "Misa Criolla," a Spanish-language setting of the Catholic Mass including indigenous instruments in the larger context of post-Vatican II and especially the Catholic Liberation Theology of South America. However, the clarity of the execution needs quite a bit of work. I would rework this by adding more background information on 1) Liberation Theology (who are its major writers/practioners; what is its relationship to the overall post-Vatican II moment; how does it fit longer trends/issues in South/Central American Catholicism) and 2) the specifics of the musical history: who is Ramírez; a little more about the setting of the Mass in other languages; what made Ramírez's setting particularly successful or important. Then, the conclusions and the description of how there are "liberationist ideas of the localized Masses" (8) will become clearer. Thus, after adding more context on these two issues, the conclusion itself can be sharper. How (what) are these liberationist ideas, and how exactly are they expressed in the localized Masses? Through the vernacular language alone? Through specific musical elements? Through their reception? More clarity is needed here. 

I tried to incorporate an answer to these questions in my revisions.

On the other hand, I would elminate some of the larger background. The connections to early modern just war theory or the Papal Bulls is the section on page 5 are not clear. While these elements factor into the long history of Catholic Christianity in the Americas, the connection isn't clearly made. I would suggest more context on Liberation Theology itself and less on the distant background. 

I think my connection was weak so I think I strengthened it so that it shows the church going back and forth on how it engages with the world.

Finally, I am very interested in your claim about the "incarnational implications" of the local Masses. This is a striking detail with important theoretical and theological possibilities. Is this something you see in Liberation Theology more broadly? Or in existing literature about vernacular and the music of the Mass? This is a concrete example of how giving more background on both Liberation Theology and the music will bring out the most interesting and compelling aspects of this very original idea and argument.

I tried to answer this more clearly in my revisions.

Reviewer 3 Report

The thesis of the piece is intrinsically interesting. The Misa Criolla becomes a space of union between liberation theology, and as the author says, more conservative movements (here, I believe that the author is addressing the use of the Mass itself as uniting oneself to the Church universal). 

There are four places for improvement: 

1) Structurally, there is no introduction, and at times it's difficult for the reader to determine why the author is making this or that argument. Assembling this or that evidence. A simple introduction, telling the reader the scope of the essay is necessary. 

2) There are claims in the essay, which historically, are unnuanced. Namely, Christendom created a theocratic regime, which was hegemonic. I'm not sure this is relevant to the thesis. And if one is going to draw on this material, there needs to be more secondary literature addressing why everything is theocratic.  

3) There's not quite the attention to the Mass musically or textually. If you're going to have a Mass at the center of an argument, you need to attend to that Mass. There are but a couple paragraphs that analyze the Mass musically and thereby theologically. 

4) Lastly, there are places where it's simply unclear why the author is addressing Fratelli Tutti or Gaudium et Spes. The analysis of these texts is quite fine, nothing to quibble with. But the structure doesn't prepare the read for this analysis. 

Author Response

1) Structurally, there is no introduction, and at times it's difficult for the reader to determine why the author is making this or that argument. Assembling this or that evidence. A simple introduction, telling the reader the scope of the essay is necessary.

I revised it.

2) There are claims in the essay, which historically, are unnuanced. Namely, Christendom created a theocratic regime, which was hegemonic. I'm not sure this is relevant to the thesis. And if one is going to draw on this material, there needs to be more secondary literature addressing why everything is theocratic.  

I was not able to address this further.

) There's not quite the attention to the Mass musically or textually. If you're going to have a Mass at the center of an argument, you need to attend to that Mass. There are but a couple paragraphs that analyze the Mass musically and thereby theologically. 

There isn't much more I can say about the mass at this point. I am more interested in showing that the mass can be understood as a departure from the past and is an attempt for the church to engage the world for what it is.

4) Lastly, there are places where it's simply unclear why the author is addressing Fratelli Tutti or Gaudium et Spes. The analysis of these texts is quite fine, nothing to quibble with. But the structure doesn't prepare the read for this analysis. 

Great point. I hope I clarified this further in my introduction.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

This article is much improved. It makes an original contribution to scholarship. Because I think it is an important article, I recommend that some of the  changes be strengthened:

Lines 7-8: needs to be more specific about the historical period of the papal documents which endorsed the enslavement of indigenous peoples.

Error: It was not Paul VI, but John XXIII who called the Second Vatican Council.

The subheading A History of Colonization in South America and Aftermath  could be changed to something more specific like Perspectives on Catholicism and the Colonization of Latin America

As in my previous review, the website doctrineofdiscovery.org – while an important educational resource – is not the standard of academic resource needed for Q1 peer reviewed journal. Please provide stronger academic sources for the section, especially when you are making passing reference to the work of Thomas Aquinas whose use of the Aristotelian concept of natural slavery is complex. Please note that Thomas was also used by those like Las Casas and Francisco de Vitoria to defend the natural rights of the indigenous peoples.

The Conclusion needs to be rewritten to reflect the changes that have been made to the article.

I would encourage the author(s) to complete these final revisions as the article will be of interest to scholars and students across the disciplines of history, music, and theology.

Author Response

Lines 7-8: needs to be more specific about the historical period of the papal documents which endorsed the enslavement of indigenous peoples.

It have specified the period from the late 15th century.

Error: It was not Paul VI, but John XXIII who called the Second Vatican Council.

This was indeed a typo. I made the correction.

The subheading A History of Colonization in South America and Aftermath  could be changed to something more specific like Perspectives on Catholicism and the Colonization of Latin America

I incorporated this suggestion

As in my previous review, the website doctrineofdiscovery.org – while an important educational resource – is not the standard of academic resource needed for Q1 peer reviewed journal. Please provide stronger academic sources for the section, especially when you are making passing reference to the work of Thomas Aquinas whose use of the Aristotelian concept of natural slavery is complex. Please note that Thomas was also used by those like Las Casas and Francisco de Vitoria to defend the natural rights of the indigenous peoples.

I found more credible resources and cited them.

The Conclusion needs to be rewritten to reflect the changes that have been made to the article.

I have revised the conclusion.

Reviewer 2 Report

The author has nicely addressed the concerns from the previous version.

Author Response

Noted. Thank you so much.

Reviewer 3 Report

Ready for publication.

Author Response

Thank you so much.