New changes will be taking place in the Catholic Church beginning November 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent. Some of the familiar prayers that will be changed include the statement, “We believe” to “I believe,” in the Nicene Creed. The Gloria will begin “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will,” as opposed to “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.” A familiar statement that also will likely change is when the priest says “The Lord be with you,” and the people will respond, “And also with you.”
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website, “The entire Church in the United States has been blessed with this opportunity to deepen its understanding of the Sacred Liturgy… to appreciate its meaning and importance in our lives.”
While the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops views these changes as a positive “opportunity,” many Catholics disagree with this optimistic view. Dr. Nancy Dallavalle, Fairfield University’s chair of Religious Studies states, “For Catholics in the pews, the new liturgical translations will work, or not, depending on how the changes are presented.”
The missal is being translated in order to coincide with the updated Latin version implemented by Pope John Paul II in 2002. The English version must be as close to the Latin version as possible. Because of these slight translation changes, only small sections of prayers and responses are being changed to better adapt; however, these small changes are causing controversy among many Catholics.
In a recent speech given by Pope Benedict to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, he explains the “the importance of helping people in positions of responsibility in the Church to understand, interpret and speak the ‘new language’ of the mass media in their pastoral functions, interacting with the modern world.” While Benedict is a strong supporter of the new translations, the new texts often contradict the document Liturgicam Authenticam, which claims to be “guiding the translation of the new editio typica of the Roman Missal from Latin into English.”
According to this document, the translation should not omit content, should be understandable to the majority, even those without much education, use common liturgical words, remain straightforward and change as little as possible. If changes are necessary, they should occur simultaneously, but “sound almost exactly like the existing texts.”
While it is often said that change is necessary, the Church is the one place in the lives of many Catholics that does not change. Regardless of location or time of year, the Catholic Mass is the same in every place in all languages on any given day. Parishioners are able to follow along with the actions whether or not they understand the priest’s language.
Interestingly, many Catholics are not informed on these upcoming changes and are going into this adjustment blind. When November 27 comes around and people begin looking around Church and awkwardly wondering what to say, or why they are proclaiming the prayers in this new fashion, some may feel uncomfortable and choose not to attend Church.
Unfortunately, not many people are aware of the upcoming changes. If these changes begin to be discussed more openly and people begin preparing for them, the changes during next Advent may be more welcomed. If people are not made aware, problems in the Catholic Church will definitely arise. Instead of these changes allowing people to feel closer to God, it may cause a rift in the Church.
Leave a Reply