Have Your Say 

Recent Comments

1. So the previous introduction was 'rushed through'?
   This one is the same and those of us who have stayed the distance will again not have our voices heard.
   No one in the Parish I attend has even heard there may be changes or what they mean.
   I thought Vatican 11 had as one of its outcomes a 'voice' for the laity?
   Seems I was wrong, suppose it is because I can think for myself even if I am just a woman.
   

   Posted By: Rosemary Keenan Gwelup WA

2. Fr Peter Williams has been given a tough job trying to defend this awful translation from the Latin.
   No competent translator [and I am a freelance translator with more than half a century of experience and I have a BA with a major in Latin] would claim that this 'new' translation is a faithful and accurate translation of the original Latin.
   Fr Williams fails to mention that the ICEL did prepare a better translation, after the original translation which we are using at present, but that translation was shafted by people in the Vatican, who then set up the Vox Clara committee, which then came up with this really awful translation.
   And, of course, all this is happening without any input from the vast majority of the Catholic Church, the ordinary Catholics in the pews.
   No wonder people have already left in droves and many more can be expected to depart what remains of the Catholic Church. I despair!

   Posted By: Rob Brian, Dover Heights, NSW

3. Rosemary: Every bishop in the English speaking world was given a copy of the draft new Missal to give to anybody and everybody for perusal for suggested changes.
   Did you expect every single parish in the country - hundreds and hundreds of them - would be consulted? We'd never see the translations in 100 years if they did that.
   There has actually been a phenomenal amount of consultation compared to that which happened in 1974 - which was zero, yet everyone seems happy with the sloppy adaptations.
   This is 10 years worth of work here, so it's definitely not rushed.
   Your note - not unlike many others - reminds me of the words of Archbishop Coleridge of Canberra, chair of the editorial commitee who translated the new Missal: Those who complain about the new Missal usually do so as they didn't get what they want.
   You are also wrong about a lack of education process about what the changes mean. a very comprehensive and detailed DVD resource has been produced by an Australian company that explains every minute detail of the new Missal - it's called One Body, One Spirit in Christ. Google it, or call your bishop's office.

   Posted By: Anthony, Perth

4. I have read Anthony of Perth and agree with Rosemary and Rob. The new translation is silly, difficult English and further removes the message from the ordinary people. Despite all attempts to promote it, it is a seriously flawed imposition on the common sense of 'Catholics in the pew'. Those we'd like to invite to join in will be further discouraged. - Melbourne, Vic

   Posted By: Gerard

5. The 'old' translation might have been rushed through but it fits us like an old glove and we have been happy with it.
   It has some powerful phrases like: For our sake he opened his arms on the cross (in the Eucharistic Prayer).
   I hope this does not undergo any change.

   Posted By: anne Parnis Glenelg

6. I hope that they have done away with the English 'Thee, Thou, Thy, Thine' parlance from an age of antiquity. Certainly un-appealing to the young. Perhaps in the re-invention of the wheel and going back to the past they may have added a few Roman ones.

   Posted By: Stan of South Plympton SA

7. Anthony from Perth: What sloppy adaptations? It's a hell of lot better than the new translation.
   And can anyone please tell me honestly why we are now supposed to pronounce heretical statements as part of the congregation's declaration of faith (aka creed). We are about to become the laughing stock of Christianity simply to appease the vanity of some egotistical super-cleric(s).
   The only way the persons of the trinity can be 'consubstantial' is if they are all of the same 'substance. Now which of our supposed church leaders is going to hit the headlines with the definition of God's 'substance'.
   I suggest that the 'sloppy adaptation' of 'one in being' is more accurate and honest than the new translation of the original Latin translation of the creed.
   Where can we find a Bishop with the guts to speak up publicly against this abomination of a translation and have it sent to the rubbish tip? Surely they have heard the screams of both popular and academic disapproval about incorrect matters of fact and spirit (or should that be 'ghost'?) in the new translation.

   Posted By: RobL, Brisbane

8. I look forward to the new translation. I wish people would read what the documents of the Second Vatican Council actually said.

   Posted By: Peter Thygesen, Canberra, Australia

9. The new translation is suspect for several good reasons.
   But for me the over-riding point is that Vatican II decreed the venacular for liturgy. Now we have one, world-wide English translation! This fits local communities not much better than did the original Latin. US English is not Aus English, is not UK English. Some of the new transaltion is certainly not 'venacular'.

   Posted By: Tony BBay,Tasmania

10. As I read the above complaints about the new translation, I can't help feeling that the translation itself is not the chief concern of some of the correspondents.
    They are clearly unhappy about something, and are using the translation as a way of expressing their dissatisfaction.
    It's a common phenomenon in the Church nowadays; some people are clearly unsatisfied, but they never say precisely what it is that they want.

    Posted By: Lance Eccles, Goulburn NSW

11. Fr Peter Williams might be too young to remember, but the introduction of the vernacular following Vatican II wasn't exactly rushed. It was first used in parishes in 1965 and it took about eight years before we settled on today's text.
    Incidentally, it took a further 16 years to produce a one-volume daily missal. I hope and trust that the new translation will be introduced more effectively.

    Posted By: Tony, Ringwood VIC

12. Anne Parnis will be disappointed. Her beloved 'e opened His arms on the cross'has been improved to 'e stretched out his hands as he endured his Passion'.

    Posted By: Michael, Minnesota USA

13. I'm nearly 50 and have been through a few changes in the missal. I still remember some of the Latin and still have the old missal. I heard about it ages ago but don't know when they become available to buy. Our church used a data projector during the mass these days, so I can use that until I can but a missal.

    Posted By: Josephine Miller, Sydney

14. Oh my heart! Like all of my fellow Catholics in the pews,I await with breathless anticipation the release of the new translation.
    What changes this will bring.How our churches will once again be filled to overflowing with the devoted.
    Please bring it on, why wait till next year?

    Posted By: Paul Gleeson,Newcastle

15. The deck-chairs are being changed on the Titanic! We have become familiar with the current translations and now they are to be altered yet again.
    I personally find some of the new wording clumsy and antiquated. If something 'ain't broke, why fix it'? Will these changes bring more bottoms to the seats in our churches?
    Quite possibly have the adverse effect - total frustration on the part of the faithful. I'm angry about the whole situation. It would seem that there are many heads buried in the sand.

    Posted By: Marie, Adelaide

16. Back in the 1890s, Rome condemned the 'error' of Americanism, namely, the dangerous tendency of many Catholics in the USA to think of themselves as thinkers and doers within their own culture.
    I think that Rome was terrified by the whole idea of what democracy might do to 'being Catholic' in that part of the world. It is clear to me that Rome is fundamentally suspicious of democracy and democratic ideals especially as found in English speaking countries of the first world.
    It comes as no surprise to me that Rome, although it cannot impose the Latin liturgy on us, is going as far as it can to 're-romanise' us.
    This is a strategy of control and it will meet with little or no resistance from the Bishops of the English speaking world. They have been intimidated into submission long ago. The acolytes of orthopraxis will be powering up their iPhones to record any aberrations in the parishes. Sad.
    Unfortunately too, I think that the European HQ really does not care too much about the people in the pews out here, there are so few of us anyway.
    
    

    Posted By: David Timbs ALBION. VIC.

17. Good to know the month that this will be introduced. I now know when to leave the Church.

    Posted By: Fred Sydney

18. Tony Bbay: You are mistaken “that Vatican II decreed the venacular for liturgy.” In fact in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy the Council stated: 36. § 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.
    § 2. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters.
    § 3. These norms being observed, it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Art. 22, § 2, to decide whether and to what extent the vernacular language is to be used; their decrees are to be approved, that is, confirmed, by the Apostolic See. And, whenever it seems to be called for, this authority is to consult with bishops of neighbouring regions which have the same language.”
    This is exactly what has been done here.
    

    Posted By: Peter G Thornleigh

19. Rob Brian's comments on the new translation of the Missale Romanum predicting mass departures from the Church is a tedious repetition of so many other commentators.
    If the new translation is going to cause 'droves' to leave the Church one must question the object of their faith.
    It cannot possibly be in our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ and frankly I wonder why they have remained in the Church at all.
    You can't have Christ without His Church. It is Jesus' own mystical body; He is the Head and we the members. So you can't leave the Church and still cling to Christ.
    There is ample scriptural authority to assure us of this: e.g. the encounter of Christ with Paul on the road to Damascus when the Lord asks: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?
    Thus He identifyies Himself intimately with His Church. A further reference is Matthew 25, the parable of the separation of the saved and the condemned.
    Those who choose to end their fellowship with the Church could do with a good dose of humility and a greater love of and faith in our Redeemer.
    Christ and His Church are a living organism to which we are all related so closely. Flawed as so many of us are and often downright sinful we belong to Christ's Church semper reformanda, knowing that we have a loving and merciful Lord who readily forgives repentant sinners.
    To whom can we go without Christ?

    Posted By: Fr Kevin Brannelly, Weston Creek, ACT.

20. Fr Kevin Brannelly seems to equate 'the Church' exclusively with the Roman Catholic Church. Pity, then, the Orthdox Churches of the East, not to mention the Churches of the Reformation.
    I'm sure Jesus will judge according to the law of love and not according to the law of Latin.
    In fact, personally, I doubt that the RC Church is what Jesus intended. We are in dire need of a good pruning.

    Posted By: SCB - Brisbane

21. I, for one, welcome the new translation.
    Despite what some are claiming here, it is very close to the Latin original and definitely more Catholic in its language and links with Tradition.
    The Catho-Protestants in the pews will hate the return to words like 'victim' and multiple references to 'Sacrifice' in the new translation, but finally, after 40 long years we are truly Catholic again.

    Posted By: Mark.T

22. Congratulations Father Kevin, you put into words what I was thinking but could never have expressed it properly. What does all this matter if we don't love our Divine Lord? By leaving the Church we are giving up the most amazing miracle of our time The Blessed Sacrament where at every Mass God changes bread and wine into his Body and Blood. Please think about it.

    Posted By: Mary

23. I had an unexpected experience of suffering with two strokes. The first happened on 29 May. After three days I was released from the John Hunter Hospital.
    The second stroke happened on Saturday 9 June. I was rushed to Emergency ward of JHH.
    I was transferred to 'Stroke Unit' of JHH. I was then transferred to Rankin Park Centre for rehabilitation. From there I was released on 29 June after attending doctors said that I had made acceptable progress.
    Though physically I had not suffered, my speech had.
    From then on I have recovered more than 85%.
    I can't recall the exact wording of the Missal. I would be grateful to receive guidance to be able to recite my Missal.
    

    Posted By: Chris Rai

• » Advertise in CathNews

Email to Friend Please fill out the following details (fields marked with a * are mandatory):
Send To Email Address*:
Send To Name *:
Sent By Email Address*:
Sent By Name *:
Text to include in email:
Captcha validation:	please enter the code above:

^ Page Top

Comment on this article

More from this section

1. New govt urged to take education forward

   The country's new leadership must ensure that every student will have the necessary tools to be equipped for life says Dr Dan White, executive director of Catholic schools in the Sydney archdiocese.

2. Aussie delegation to visit Kiribati over climate change

   The Edmund Rice Centre will take a delegation of Australian community leaders to Kiribati, led by one of the most senior indigenous leaders, Patrick Dodson, and ERC director Phil Glendenning.

3. Church agencies to be exempt from NSW same-sex adoption bill

   NSW MPs have been urged by the Catholic and Anglican leadership to defeat a same-sex adoption bill, although the independent MP proposing it said the bill would exempt church agencies.

4. Fomer Bathurst Bishop Patrick Dougherty dies

   Emeritus Bishop of Bathurst Patrick Dougherty, who led the diocese from 1983 to 2008, died last night from lung cancer. He was 78.

5. Caritas appeals for generosity to help desperate Pakistanis

   Caritas Australia is urging Australians to give generously in support of the community-to-community response to the floods in Pakistan.