MARYSVILLE, PA, OCTOBER 30, 2007 – The
\nConfraternity of Catholic Clergy respectfully asks the Bishops of the
\nUnited States (USCCB) to disregard the recent letter from the National
\nCoalition of American Nuns on Liturgical Translations. We totally
\ndisagree with their request to reject a literal and accurate English
\nversion of the Roman Missal based on the typical Latin text. It is our
\ncontention as ordained ministers who daily celebrate the sacred liturgy
\nand who serve the spiritual needs of the faithful that they deserve
\nnothing less than total and complete conformity to the authentic and
\nofficial texts approved by the Holy See.<\/p>\n
Since the Eucharistic Sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of
\nChristian life’, it is imperative that the Church’s
\nministers celebrate ‘digne, atténte ac devote’ (worthily,
\nwith attention and devotion). Reverence is achieved not only by
\ndiligently following the rubrics but also by having accurate texts
\nwhich incorporate sacred language. Ritual (gestures) combines with Rite
\n(words) to make proper worship. ‘Full, conscious and active
\nparticipation’ by the faithful in the sacred liturgy is only possible
\nwhen pedestrian language and banal translations are abandoned once and
\nfor all. The congregation is more educated and sophisticated than
\npurported by those who insist accurate and literal translations from
\nthe Latin into English would be confusing at best and frustrating at
\nworst.<\/p>\n
We live in a culture where the vulgar, crass and obscene are part of
\neveryday conversation. It proliferates the media at all levels: radio,
\ntelevision, movies, theater, magazines, and the internet. Yet, good
\ntaste and graceful language are not archaic. Sacred worship requires a
\nsacred vocabulary and nomenclature which expresses the value and need
\nfor reverence for ‘the Holy’ and which transcends
\nthe secular world and allows the worshipper to approach the threshold
\nof heaven. Accuracy demands that the word “consubstantial” be restored
\nto the Creed since the Council of Nicea (325) canonized the terms
\n‘homoouios’ (Greek) and ‘consubstantialem’ (Latin). Adjectives which
\npredicate the divinity of Christ, prominent in the Latin, need to be
\nreinserted into the English. ‘Holy’, ‘sacred’, ‘venerable’, and
\n‘immaculate’, etc., are not foreign terms to Catholic vocabulary.
\nEdified language “inspires the believer to aspire to those things which
\nare holy and sacred. Banal and pedestrian language lowers us into the
\ngutter. One can and ought to seek a poetic sacred language that uplifts
\nthe human spirit to seek the divine rather than being content with the
\nmediocrity of mundane.<\/p>\n
Contact: Confraternity of Catholic Clergy PA, US<\/p>\n