Hi, Greg -
I don't recall there being a problem with using St. Louis Jesuits material. If there was, I think it would be their publisher, not the Jesuits, who made a stink.

I DO recall a very nasty problem that arose with the use of material from F.E.L. Publications (Friends of the English Liturgy). This company was the first big publisher of English-language Catholic music after Vatican II - the real "folk Mass" stuff (3-chord wonders). F.E.L. songs were mimeographed by the millions of copies, and I'm sure the company and songwriters were deprived of a lot of royalty money. So, F.E.L. sued dioceses and parishes and won a number of lawsuits. Trouble is, people stopped using F.E.L. music altogether, and the company folded.

The St. Louis Jesuits music was published by another acronym, NALR (North American Liturgy Resources of Phoenix, pronounced "Nailer"). This firm was bought out by OCP (Oregon Catholic Press) in the late 80's or early 90's.

I think the problem was that Catholics were used to using centuries-old music that was in the public domain, and they just didn't understand all this licensing stuff and the need to compensate composers for their work. Publishers, on the other hand, didn't know how to make it easy for people to get licenses for music and why they should do it. Things have settled down, and publishers have worked out reasonable ways for churches to license music.

Yeah, I suppose there are copyright problems with the page leeneia linked to, and copyright problems are always going to be a source of frustration. I'm sure publishers and songwriters and musicians want people to use and enjoy their music - but they also deserve to be fairly compensated. It takes a lot to develop means of compensation that are fair and uncomplicated. The site Leeneia linked to probably won't do the publishers or songwriters any harm - it may well help people gain interest in the music and want to use it for worhip.

The same issue affects music discussion forums like this one - some of what we post may violate copyright, but I don't think it affects the ability of songwriters and publishers to earn an honest profit from their work. I think our discussions can actually help the songwriters and publishers, as long as we're careful to give credit and attribution where they're due..

-Joe Offer-

P.S. "The Battle of the Keys" is another expression of The Battle of the Sexes. Women often transpose songs lower so they can sing them - and then they wonder why the men don't sing. I can hit an "A" below low "C," and maybe sometimes a "G," but don't expect me to sing any lower if you want me to sing again...