It's about time
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U.S. Bishops Approve New Mass Translation
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 15, 2006; 9:34 PM
LOS ANGELES -- The nation's Roman Catholic bishops signed off
Thursday on a new English translation for the Mass that would
change prayers ingrained in the memories of millions of American
parishioners.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted at its biannual
meeting for a new translation after a brief but vigorous debate
over several small changes in wording. The 173-29 vote on the
Order of the Mass was aimed at satisfying Vatican calls for a
translation that's closer to the Latin version.
Before Mass changes at the parish level, the Americans' version
must go to offices in the Holy See for final approval. The
bishops' leader on the issue said that process could take years.
"Without a doubt, this is the most significant liturgical action
to come before this body for many years," said Bishop Donald
Trautman, chairman of the conference's Committee on Liturgy.
"It will take some adapting, but it is not earth-shattering when
you think of the changes we went through 40 years ago," he said,
referring to the Second Vatican Council, where the Latin Mass was
replaced by the vernacular languages in each country.
The new translation alters the wording of key texts spoken by
Catholics during worship, including the Nicene Creed, the Gloria,
the Penitential Rite, the Sanctus and Communion.
Some have worried about changing a fundamental rite of worship
that is so much a part of Catholic identity, especially now. Mass
attendance has been declining, the priest shortage has left a
growing number of churches without a resident cleric, bishops and
parishioners have been battling over the closure of old churches
and schools, and the prelates have been trying to rebuild trust in
their leadership after the clergy sex abuse crisis.
Prior to the meeting, the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at
the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and a
Jesuit priest, said the new Mass would "cause chaos and real
problems and the people who are going to be at the brunt end of it
are the poor priests in the parishes."
Trautman acknowledged the adjustment could be difficult. "I think
we all recognize that our priests are overburdened now and
stretched thin," he said. "We do believe, however, that this is
important for the worship life of the Church. These texts are
presenting a new richness that we haven't seen in the past so that
will have to be the driving force."
Minor changes to the wording of many portions of the Mass will be
obvious to Catholics. The repeated exchanges "The Lord be with
you" / "And also with you" between a priest and his congregation,
for example, become "The Lord be with you" / "And with your
spirit" in the updated version.
The prayer said before Communion would become "Lord, I am not
worthy that you should enter under my roof," instead of "Lord, I
am not worthy to receive you."
Survey results released by the conference's Committee on Liturgy
last November found that U.S. bishops were split over whether the
changes were necessary, but in the end the proposal won more than
the 168 votes it needed for approval.
Some bishops said the changes would deepen lay people's
understanding of Catholicism and Scripture. They said priests
could use the changes to spark a discussion of the liturgical
reasoning behind them, including citing biblical stories and the
Latin version.
"All these changes should require ... a certain amount of
explanation and allow the people who are using them to grow in
faith and not remain where they are," said Archbishop Oscar
H. Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala.
Bishops debated for about 20 minutes on a variety of wording
changes, some pitting the familiar against the new. A proposal to
change the words of the Nicene Creed from "one in being" to
"consubstantial," which is closer to the Latin, failed.
Roman Catholic bishops in Australia, England, Scotland and Wales
have already approved translations with at most only slight
differences, said Monsignor James. P. Moroney, who leads the
liturgy office for the bishops' conference.
On another subject, retiring Washington Cardinal Theodore
McCarrick, who has been leading the bishops' task force on
Catholics in public life, announced that a new ad hoc group will
serve as a liaison between the bishops' conference and Catholic
politicians. He also said the task force had met with Catholic
Democrats and Republicans privately to discuss how to best merge
their religious beliefs and their politics.
Catholic politicians' duty to adhere to church teachings _
particularly Catholicism's anti-abortion stance _ was a hot-button
issue in the 2004 campaign when John Kerry, a Catholic who
supports abortion rights, was the Democratic presidential nominee.
© 2006 The Associated Press
U.S. Bishops Approve New Mass Translation
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 15, 2006; 9:34 PM
LOS ANGELES -- The nation's Roman Catholic bishops signed off
Thursday on a new English translation for the Mass that would
change prayers ingrained in the memories of millions of American
parishioners.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted at its biannual
meeting for a new translation after a brief but vigorous debate
over several small changes in wording. The 173-29 vote on the
Order of the Mass was aimed at satisfying Vatican calls for a
translation that's closer to the Latin version.
Before Mass changes at the parish level, the Americans' version
must go to offices in the Holy See for final approval. The
bishops' leader on the issue said that process could take years.
"Without a doubt, this is the most significant liturgical action
to come before this body for many years," said Bishop Donald
Trautman, chairman of the conference's Committee on Liturgy.
"It will take some adapting, but it is not earth-shattering when
you think of the changes we went through 40 years ago," he said,
referring to the Second Vatican Council, where the Latin Mass was
replaced by the vernacular languages in each country.
The new translation alters the wording of key texts spoken by
Catholics during worship, including the Nicene Creed, the Gloria,
the Penitential Rite, the Sanctus and Communion.
Some have worried about changing a fundamental rite of worship
that is so much a part of Catholic identity, especially now. Mass
attendance has been declining, the priest shortage has left a
growing number of churches without a resident cleric, bishops and
parishioners have been battling over the closure of old churches
and schools, and the prelates have been trying to rebuild trust in
their leadership after the clergy sex abuse crisis.
Prior to the meeting, the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at
the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and a
Jesuit priest, said the new Mass would "cause chaos and real
problems and the people who are going to be at the brunt end of it
are the poor priests in the parishes."
Trautman acknowledged the adjustment could be difficult. "I think
we all recognize that our priests are overburdened now and
stretched thin," he said. "We do believe, however, that this is
important for the worship life of the Church. These texts are
presenting a new richness that we haven't seen in the past so that
will have to be the driving force."
Minor changes to the wording of many portions of the Mass will be
obvious to Catholics. The repeated exchanges "The Lord be with
you" / "And also with you" between a priest and his congregation,
for example, become "The Lord be with you" / "And with your
spirit" in the updated version.
The prayer said before Communion would become "Lord, I am not
worthy that you should enter under my roof," instead of "Lord, I
am not worthy to receive you."
Survey results released by the conference's Committee on Liturgy
last November found that U.S. bishops were split over whether the
changes were necessary, but in the end the proposal won more than
the 168 votes it needed for approval.
Some bishops said the changes would deepen lay people's
understanding of Catholicism and Scripture. They said priests
could use the changes to spark a discussion of the liturgical
reasoning behind them, including citing biblical stories and the
Latin version.
"All these changes should require ... a certain amount of
explanation and allow the people who are using them to grow in
faith and not remain where they are," said Archbishop Oscar
H. Lipscomb of Mobile, Ala.
Bishops debated for about 20 minutes on a variety of wording
changes, some pitting the familiar against the new. A proposal to
change the words of the Nicene Creed from "one in being" to
"consubstantial," which is closer to the Latin, failed.
Roman Catholic bishops in Australia, England, Scotland and Wales
have already approved translations with at most only slight
differences, said Monsignor James. P. Moroney, who leads the
liturgy office for the bishops' conference.
On another subject, retiring Washington Cardinal Theodore
McCarrick, who has been leading the bishops' task force on
Catholics in public life, announced that a new ad hoc group will
serve as a liaison between the bishops' conference and Catholic
politicians. He also said the task force had met with Catholic
Democrats and Republicans privately to discuss how to best merge
their religious beliefs and their politics.
Catholic politicians' duty to adhere to church teachings _
particularly Catholicism's anti-abortion stance _ was a hot-button
issue in the 2004 campaign when John Kerry, a Catholic who
supports abortion rights, was the Democratic presidential nominee.
© 2006 The Associated Press