One of the surprises to come out of the Synod on Synodality was a call for better liturgy. The final report of the October 2023 session of the synod referred to “the widely reported need to make liturgical language more accessible to the faithful and more embodied in the diversity of cultures.” The English-speaking church Read more
The Catholic Church in New Zealand is setting its sights on introducing an inclusive lectionary for Mass. Improved translations for the opening and post-Communion prayers are also under consideration. The initiative was confirmed by Bishop Stephen Lowe, president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the bishops’ representative on the International Commission on English Read more
Synodal feedback calls for reworking the current Roman Missal to provide better, more straightforward and accessible liturgical language. Sadly, this request reads as if this change were not already possible. It has been available to the New Zealand Church since September 3, 2017, when Pope Francis published Magnum Principium (The Great Principle). In Magnum Principium, Read more
Life is full of ironies. And life in the Church is no different. In fact, this past week we just witnessed a bit of irony that stretched right across the Atlantic Ocean, though most people seem to have missed it. On October 4, as English Archbishop Arthur Roche had just finished giving his first major Read more
Pope Francis, May 27, announced that British Archbishop, Arthur Roche (pictured) will be the new head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. (Liturgy Office.) Roche replaces controversial conservative Cardinal, Robert Sarah, whose resignation Pope Francis accepted on 20 February. The Vatican liturgy office is charged with overseeing the Catholic Read more
Jesus’ blood was poured out “per tutti” – “for all” rather than “per molti”, meaning “for many”, according to the new Italian Missal presented to Pope Francis on 28 August. The pope normally celebrates Mass in Italian. The approved Italian translation from Latin of the new Roman Missal comes nine years after the English version Read more
The French Bishop’s Conference is pleased to have finally received approval for its new Mass translation. President of France’s Episcopal Commission for Liturgy and Sacramental Pastoral Care, Bishop Buy de Kerimel told La Croix that it changes very little for the people. Kerimel said the changes were more significant for the priests. Acknowledging that liturgy Read more
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference want the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to review the 1998 draft Roman Missal translation early next year. The conference’s president, Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn, told the NZ Catholic their request seeks to balance demand for use of the missal while ensuring “unity is preserved with Read more
Jogging our memories, I’m sure we can recall the liturgical branding for the new translation of the Mass. “New words, deeper meaning, same Mass.” Initially prepared to go with the flow, after a little while I found the cognitive dissonance became too apparent. What we got were old words with foreign meanings and a Mass Read more
The Bishop of Palmerston North Charles Drennan says the clunky sentence construction and often awkward vocabulary in the six-year-old translation of the Mass have tested us all, “Notwithstanding the introduction of some evocative language.” Writing in Welcom, Drennan made a plea for patience in regard to what action may be taken in New Zealand as a consequence Read more