Statement on David Haas, Composer
Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Benedict Parish,
Last month, allegations of sexual misconduct by composer David Haas were made public. GIA Publications (the publisher of our Worship hymnals) made the following statement on June 13th, 2020:
“Early this year we became aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by David Haas, and we learned the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis was considering a decision not to provide him a letter of suitability. In response, we suspended our sponsorship and publishing relationship with Mr. Haas, and have not sponsored his work since late January.
New allegations of sexually abusive conduct by Mr. Haas continue to be reported. We take these reports seriously. GIA Publications supports and stands with victims. We must join together to address and prevent sexual abuse.
If you would like to share any information or make a report, please contact www.intoaccount.org.”
In the weeks following, dozens of victims and witnesses have come forward to corroborate these allegations. Though, at this time, Mr. Haas is not charged with a crime, we are beginning to see the scope of the alleged misconduct a little more clearly each day. I won’t go into the details of these allegations, out of respect to victims of abuse and any victims that may read this article. However, I will share a link to the statement made by Jeanne Cotter, former wife and alleged victim. Here is her statement on Facebook from a few weeks back.
What strikes me about her story is not just the abuse itself, but the fact that Mr. Haas allegedly used his ministry, fame, and musical influence in the Church to perpetuate it. This apparently wasn’t some secret double life, but a thread weaving through his public ministry over decades. After weeks of silence, a statement was posted to Mr. Haas’ website, which you can read here.
As you can imagine, these allegations have sent shockwaves through the world of church music. Mr. Haas has composed several of the liturgical “hits” that many have come to love, and there has been much discussion as to whether or not we should still sing his music. I have watched several conversations take place on social media, both trying to discredit the victims, and touting the argument that “the art is not the artist.” Others bemoaned the fact that “our liturgies will be much poorer without his music!” Though I can only speak for our parish, I feel compelled to address these issues as they pertain to our music program.
First, let me just say, that I believe the victims. Of course, Mr. Haas should receive his civil due process, however, the sheer number of reports, corroborations, and the similarity them all point to credibility. Even if just a single one of these numerous reports is credible, that is one too many. I can only imagine the pain of carrying these experiences in silence for years or decades, as so many survivors do. Worse yet, just imagine being reminded of this experience by the music at church. By singing his music, we tell survivors that their pain doesn’t matter, so long as we get to hear our favorite song(s). I think it is disrespectful to all survivors to continue to sing the music of an alleged abuser, and I refuse to let our parish music ministry cause harm to ANY survivor for the sake of convenience. We can do better.
To those that argue that we should “separate the art from the artist,” I must respectfully disagree. Here is my reasoning: 1) Mr. Haas allegedly used his music, at least in part, as a way to enable his pattern of abuse 2) He is alive and well and continues to profit from the use of his work. Some have argued that many composers have lived sordid lives, yet, we continue to play their music. This is true, perhaps, especially in the case of Richard Wagner. However, in his case the composer is long dead and cannot profit. Furthermore, I would say that the work must arguably be so prolific and revolutionary that it has objectively influenced and shaped the musical culture because of its uniqueness, despite any indiscretion on the part of its creator. Does Mr. Haas’s music fall into this category? Only time will tell. Until then, I think we can manage to live without it for a while.
So, what can we do? The first thing to do is pray for healing for all involved. Though we can’t undo the past, we can try our best to forward with God. The second is to do everything we can to stop enabling this abuse, which includes a complete ban of all David Haas music at St. Ben’s until further notice. I know that many of our parishioners might not recognize his name, so I have provided a complete list of all of the titles in our hymnal that will be affected. For now, I have even included titles on which he is collaborator. Here is the list of affected pieces:
32 Lord, You Have the Words (Psalm 19)
42 The Lord is My Light and My Salvation (Psalm 27)
75 All the Ends of the Earth (Psalm 98)
78 We are God’s People (Psalm 100)
79 Psalm 103 (Antiphon II only)
122 Holy Is Your Name (Text only, the tune is an Irish folk song)
498 Christ is Risen, Shout Hosanna! (Tune only, the text is written by Brian Wren)
704 You Are Mine
721 Blest Are They
763 We Have Been Told
764 Now We Remain
799 We Are Called
I know that this change might be difficult. For many, these pieces of music have accompanied us in moments of joy, sorrow, celebration, and grief. It is, however, the right thing to do. I think we can all agree that the right thing is not always the easiest thing. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Kiolbassa
Director of Music & Liturgy