What If We Just Said Wait?

The saga of the new Roman Missal continues with reports that the 2008 translation approved by the bishops has undergone substantial revision. According to a detailed report recently leaked by a bishop to the National Catholic Reporter, these changes (10,000 in number!), far from being an improvement on the 2008 text, make this already compromised text even worse. What's more, these changes have been made without consultation with either the bishops or with the translators. Click here to read the complete report released by NCR.

So, why are some bishops still rushing to implement this text in the U.S. in Advent, 2011?
Signers, especially those in the U.S.: NOW is the moment to contact your bishop. PLEASE, e-mail, fax, or phone your bishop’s office AT ONCE--before their annual meeting begins in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, November 13. Urge him to address this crisis during the meeting. Ask that there be a thorough review of the process that has led us to this moment. What if we just said wait?\

I am deeply concerned by recent reports about the new translation of the Roman Missal, slated for implementation in the U.S. on November 28, 2011. As I understand it, the texts which you and the bishops of this country approved in 2008 have been subjected to substantial--and highly questionable--editing. This is shocking, and yet, hardly surprising. As you know, well over 21,000 people from around the English-speaking world have expressed their grave concerns about the 2008 text. Now it has become clear that an already compromised text is in a state of complete disarray. One might say, “the last state is worse than the first”!

At a time when, sadly, far too many people have lost their confidence in Church leadership, it is imperative that our bishops avoid further erosion of their authority by taking steps to ensure that we be given high-quality texts that unite, rather than divide.

I urge you, at your November meeting, to follow the lead of Archbishop Meisner and the German Bishops’ Conference by directly petitioning the Holy See in this matter. To accomplish this, a committee of bishops with liturgical expertise should be established to represent to the Holy See the urgent need for a delay in implementation and for a thorough review of the principles and the process of liturgical translation.

Please, bring these concerns to your brother bishops at your November meeting. I will be praying earnestly that the Holy Spirit may inspire and guide you.

Your bishop’s contact information is easily obtained at your diocesan website. Or you can follow this link from the USCCB website to find information for your own diocese: http://www.usccb.org/directory.shtml. PLEASE ACT NOW! It's not too late for change.

The Roman Missal in the News Reporting for the highly-respected British Catholic weekly, The Tablet, Rome correspondent Robert Mickens wrote on June 12 this encouraging bit of news:

THE CONTROVERSIAL new English translation of the Roman Missal, which the Vatican officially approved in its entirety last April, is actually still a work in progress and will include more changes that were never endorsed by the world’s English-speaking bishops, The Tablet has learned. “This means that the beautifully-bound English Missal that Vox Clara gave Pope Benedict at that gala luncheon last spring, to mark the recognitio (approval), was not even the finished product,” said one of several sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It’s evident that the new translation of the Roman Missal is in serious disarray. Not only are extensive changes being made to the texts our bishops voted on (many of them reluctantly), but some English-speaking conferences of bishops have not even voted on all of the texts yet!

A sign of hope? Recently, a new translation into German of the Order of Christian Funerals (prepared according to the norms established in Liturgiam Authenticam) was rejected by German-speaking priests and bishops for pastoral reasons. Amazingly, permission has now been granted to them by the Vatican to continue using the 1973 version they were accustomed to! According to Anthony Ruff, OSB, this is the first time since the Second Vatican Council that “an officially approved book is being withdrawn because of objections to the translation, especially to the many changes Rome made in the submitted translation.” (Read more here.) Is it too much to hope that the same thing could happen with regard to the new English-language Missal?

Further signs of hope Read Anthony Ruff, OSB's Implementation Flowchart at Collegeville's PrayTell blog to learn more about the scramble to complete the new translation of the Roman Missal on time.

A viable alternative? Opponents of the “What If” initiative claim that “we’ve waited long enough” for a new translation of the Missal. Apart from their aesthetic and theological objections, they argue that further delays are impracticable simply because of the amount of time, money and energy already poured into new translation. Do you agree with this? Isn’t a truly beautiful and prayerful translation more important than any of these considerations? And is it possible that such a translation already exists?

We think so. Many are unaware that ICEL's faithful and beautiful translation—15 years in the making--was approved by all the English-speaking conferences of bishops by a very wide margin, only to be rejected by the Vatican in 2002 upon the publication of Liturgiam Authenticam, which unilaterally set forth new guidelines for translation of liturgical texts. The 1998 translation, while very faithful to the Latin, avoids clumsy Latinizations ( e.g., “do not suffer, we pray, those you have redeemed,” “consubstantial with the Father”; “incarnate of the Virgin Mary”; “oblation of our service,” etc.). It is a pastorally sensitive translation, which leaves the people’s parts virtually untouched, and employs gender-inclusive language whenever possible.

You can compare all three translations (the translation currently in use, the rejected 1998 translation, and the controversial new one) by clicking here. Is the 1998 Missal the translation we have been “waiting” for? Compare the texts and decide for yourself!

It's not over till it's over Many who signed on to “What If We Just Said Wait” lost heart once the recognitio was granted by Rome (or when their bishop failed to respond constructively when they wrote to express their serious concern). In light of all the above, we don’t believe this is the time to give up. Some parishes have organized, found their voice, and even signed on en masse (the Church of the Epiphany in Louisville, KY is an example; another Louisville parish, St. Agnes, published a useful series of bulletin inserts on the subject).

The official Roman Missal workshops are underway. They don’t leave much room for dialogue, but if you (or your pastor) are attending, please consider raising these issues with the leaders. And if you haven’t yet written to your bishop to express your concerns—or even if you have!— share with him these signs of hope (including the surprising reversal in the case of the German translation).

“Prayer is the greatest petition.” Please, continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our Church and her leaders in the coming months! And, no, it is not too late to encourage your friends and fellow parishioners to sign on to What If We Just Said Wait!