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June 15, 2006
Slowly but surely
No text of the remarks of the Apostolic Nuncio yet, but here's the text of the address from the Bishop of Leeds, Arthur Roche, chariman of ICEL, to the USCCB:
The version of Mass that we currently use is clearly far from perfect. Those of you who celebrate Mass in both Spanish and English will know only too well the difference in richness between the two texts. The then bishops of ICEL recognised that from the beginning, and they knew that a revision would be needed. There was an urgent feeling in the early 1970s that the liturgy should be made available to the people as soon as possible, and the work was rushed. The revisiting of this was delayed for practical reasons, but also for ideological ones that caused many bishops grave concern, and that is sometimes forgotten. The chief preoccupation in many minds was, of course, that the liturgy be brought closer to the people. This aim could, and sometimes did, obscure the other aim, which was to preserve and transmit our inherited liturgical tradition and bring our people closer to that. During the initial stages of consultation on the third edition of the Missale Romanum, two theologians wrote to me, quite independently, and shared with me their belief that the Mass texts we currently use had severely diminished our appreciation of the richness of Eucharistic theology. This is clearly something to which we, as bishops, should be sensitive. The Holy Father said something similar during the course of last year’s Synod of Bishops. Of course, if you try to carry a cup of coffee across a room too quickly, much of the contents may spill. This time, we have tried to keep the coffee in the cup.
We are at a very important moment in the whole of this process. If the bishops of the English-speaking countries can agree on a single version of the Mass, what a sign of catholicity that will be. But more than that, it will be a guarantee of catholicity for the future, not only in our own time, and not only in our own countries. Clearly I, and all my brother bishops of ICEL, believe that you, the bishops of the United States, have a most important role of leadership to play in just that. Thank you for giving me your attention.
There's much more - detailed analysis of several key passages to make his points. Worth a read. It will be fascinating to see how the vote comes out.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
This speech makes me want to stand up and cheer, and then kneel down and pray.
Dear Lord, please let our bishops approve ICEL's new translation, so that we may worship you in greater beauty and truth.
Posted by: Maureen at Jun 15, 2006 5:43:38 PM
His Grace knocks it out of the park!!
Tremendous, clever and telling speech -- he takes Trautman's disgraceful behavior head-on, and demolishes it.
Posted by: Cat Clinic at Jun 15, 2006 5:57:14 PM
This may be a little off topic (not too much!) but I do find it disconcerting to hear two versions of the Creed-- one in the US, and one in UK and Ireland.
"of one being" vs "one in being"
"He became incarnate" vs "he was born"
"was made man" vs "became man"
"He suffered death" vs "He suffered, died.."
"in accordance" vs "in fulfillment"
Did I get them all? I prefer the British version on all counts, because I think it is more faithful to the original Latin and Greek. But I would go even further and change "became man" as "man" (which can denote "male") is an unsatisfactory translation of anthropos. Either way, we need a common translation.
Posted by: Tony A at Jun 15, 2006 6:31:29 PM
The revisiting of this was delayed for practical reasons, but also for ideological ones that caused many bishops grave concern, and that is sometimes forgotten.
An interesting admission, from a Bishop no less!
Tony,
I heard Fr. Pacwa explain it once, something to the effect that the English word "man" comes from German, and hence, "man" is the accurate translation, not "human". I don't remember the exact original words though.
Posted by: Jason at Jun 15, 2006 6:43:42 PM
His Excellency is in excellent form!
I think this speech along with other things will tip the balance. For anyone not utterly given over to opposition, it should be persuasive.
Posted by: Jeff at Jun 15, 2006 7:06:06 PM
Let's see if any of the media here report on the activities of his visit in as much detail as the BBC devotes to his day job(click on the purple textbox for 9 charming snapshots)
Posted by: Clare Krishan at Jun 15, 2006 7:32:36 PM
[pun]We can only hope that this Leeds to approval of a faithful translation.[/pun/
Posted by: Clayton at Jun 15, 2006 7:43:08 PM
Could someone point me to a source where I could find the full text of the proposed changes? I've found bits and pieces here and there ("And with your spirit", "consubstantial", etc), but I haven't been able to find the complete list anywhere.
Posted by: KC Monet at Jun 15, 2006 8:24:57 PM
In 28 years of priesthood (less one week!), I've been able to celebrate Mass in several other European languages. German has rhythm, Italian has poetry and Spanish is very strong when it's used in the liturgy. Catalan is intimate and French is elegant, but the English we use is impoverished and often trite. Sometimes, the translation is inaccurate and occasionally it's bewildering, such as the Arianism that was slipped unawares into the fixed Preface for the Fourth Eucharist Prayer: "You alone are God, living and true" addressed to the Father. I've been told that there's also quite a bit of Pelagianism in the translations, with the presumption that we get there by our own efforts. We need to sort out this mess and should express our regrets to the Protestant churches which have followed us too closely in altering their own words of worship.
Posted by: Fr.Fergus at Jun 15, 2006 8:25:09 PM
Good news, people! According to Rocco, it passed overwhelmingly. Bishop Trautman even recommended it!
Praise God! (Although, KC, I'd also like to read the whole thing - I've only seen bits and pieces.)
Posted by: Robin at Jun 15, 2006 8:34:55 PM
I do believe there's hope for the liturgy.
Posted by: Mary Jane at Jun 15, 2006 8:43:07 PM
News reports from AP:
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.
"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.
"It's going to 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 who don't need any more problems," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and a Jesuit priest.
Now, how long will it take to get the other 80% of the Missale translated and approved?
Posted by: Old Zhou at Jun 15, 2006 8:43:37 PM
Great! They approved it. Now when can we get it in missals, missalettes or otherwise in print?
Posted by: Elaine at Jun 15, 2006 9:14:21 PM
I noticed that in the early stages of our consultation on the Order of Mass, voices were raised in the South objecting to the use of ‘you all’ in the priest’s greeting because of the way in which those words are used in the South. - from Bishop Roche's address.
I thought this was funny. (Even though, where I come from it's "y'all" not "you all".)
Anyway, it reminds me of one of the readings from Genesis that is read at the Easter Vigil. This year the lay reader that read it at our parish had a very cowboy kind of accent. So I loved it when he read "Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you."
And then his accent was great when, in the same reading, God said, "I swear by myself"
(Ah swayre bah mahself)
Also I always crack up when we get to the reading (read on June 2 this year) that begins
"King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea
on a visit to Festus." Somehow that line is really funny when read with a southern accent.
Seriously, though. I am so excited about adopting the changes to the prayers in the mass. I can just hear the griping now, but I can't wait to speak those words and I can't wait for all of the opportunities to teach people and for people to really pay attention to what they're saying/praying.
Posted by: Meggan at Jun 15, 2006 9:44:47 PM
If Rocco is correct, they also approved a list of 62 American adaptations to the text. I wonder what they are (or, more to the point, how bad they are).
Posted by: mio at Jun 15, 2006 9:54:21 PM
Fr. Pacwa doesn't know his German very well.
There are two words in German, one the generic 'man' and the other gender-specific 'Mann.'
In any event, if fussily literal Latin translation is your goal, the cognate for the word "homo" is "human."
So a fussily literal Latin translation of the phrase "et homo factus est" would be, "and was made human." Not "and was made man."
Can't have it both ways, folks.
Posted by: RP Burke at Jun 15, 2006 10:04:14 PM
Yes, I prefer the fussy Latin "and was made human". I've been arguing for years that this is nothing to do with feminism and all about an accurate translation.
Posted by: Tony A at Jun 15, 2006 11:00:38 PM
'On a visit to Festus'... I confess that I always think of the character on the TV series Gunsmoke.
Posted by: marc at Jun 16, 2006 2:27:32 AM
@RP Burke:
There are two words in German, one the generic 'man' and the other gender-specific 'Mann.'
In fact, there is the German word "Mensch", which means "human being", and "Mann", which means, well, male man. "et homo factus est" is translated "ist Mensch geworden"...
Posted by: Victor at Jun 16, 2006 2:34:00 AM
When I hear about visiting Festus, I think of the blue collar suburb South of St Louis where the automobile assembly plants are located.
Posted by: Julia at Jun 16, 2006 10:26:56 AM
"There are two words in German, one the generic 'man' and the other gender-specific 'Mann.'"
If the reference is to "Mann" and "man" the former does mean gender-specific male and the latter means "one" such as "man muss ..." i.e., "one must ..."
Posted by: Christine at Jun 16, 2006 12:00:57 PM
Fr. Pacwa was talking about the clear, oldest English meaning of "man", which is indeed an exact translation of "homo" and not of "vir". English does retain that generic meaning, although feminism and political correctness have done their best to kill it.
In case you're wondering what the Old English words for male and female persons were...
guma = male person
Hence "groom" and "bridegroom".
wif = woman, female, or wife (just like femina and many other Indo-European words for woman).
wif-man (which became woman) was a more precise way of saying "female person".
Posted by: Maureen O'Brien at Jun 16, 2006 1:22:09 PM
Great translates!
Great translates, gonna hit the States!
Gonna give you "spirit",
"roof", and "right and just",
"Peace to men of goodwill",
Words that you can trust!
I have sinned "greatly through my fault,
Through my fault, through my most grievous fault."
Once we said "we"; now undeceived,
We know what Credo means: "I believe".
Cooooooonsubstantial, 'cause the homoousious stops here!
We are glad to say this word today
'Cause it really is a lot more clear!
Cooooooonsubstantial is the sweetest, neatest kind of word
So give a shout, or murmur out,
Or sing it like a calling bird!
We know we belong to the Church,
And her Groom won't leave us in the lurch!
So we will say...
Alleluia today!
Oh, yes, we're sayin'
Praise God -- the Son's "consubstantial
With the Father", OK!
Posted by: Maureen O'Brien at Jun 16, 2006 1:48:54 PM
If Rocco is correct, they also approved a list of 62 American adaptations ...
In deference to Rocco, let me correct myself by noting that these were in fact "amendments," not "adaptations," that were sprinkled through the text like the dew (oops, I mean "like the outpouring").
Posted by: mio at Jun 16, 2006 3:00:16 PM
