Perth Council of Priests fully endorse new Missal translations

By Anthony Barich
The Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth has given the new translations of the Missal its full endorsement.

In an exclusive statement to The Record after discussing the issue at their 14 April meeting at the Cathedral Presbytery, Perth’s Council of Priests chairman Fr Brian McKenna said the changes “will be as readily accepted as the original (1973) translation was”.
“The Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth accepts that there may be minor difficulties in implementing the New Translation of the Roman Missal,” the 16 April statement said. The new Missal will be available in Perth at the beginning of Advent.
Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton told The Record that workshops for the catecheses on the Mass and “Train the Trainer” sessions have been well received by parishes across the Archdiocese.
The Bishops of the province of WA have decided that the people’s parts of the Mass will be introduced on the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (29-30 October), to enable parishes to be prepared for and deliver the Catechesis on the Mass. In some other parts of Australia, this introduction will occur earlier.
Bishop Sproxton said that the prelates of WA anticipate that the New Roman Missal will be available at the beginning of Advent, when the priests will be permitted to begin using the Presidential Prayers, the Prefaces, the Eucharistic Prayers and the rest of the Missal.
Pew cards with people’s responses and the texts of the Confiteor, the Gloria, the Creed and the Mystery of Faith acclamations are now available to parishes for free from the Archdiocesan Centre for Liturgy for parishioners to learn in advance.
“The changes in the people’s responses are not many or difficult.
“The biggest challenge will be for the celebrants because of the wording and the flow of language will be different from what we have been used to,” the statement from Perth’s Archdiocesan Council of Priests said. “With time and practice in getting used to these differences, it is anticipated that the New Translation will be as readily accepted as the original English translation was”.
The statement from the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth, an official Archdiocesan organisation, is in stark contrast to one issued on 23 February by the National Council of Priests Australia, a purely private organisation unrelated to the Perth body.
The NCPA said that the new translations provoked calls for a boycott.
The NCPA said the new translation could exclude women and suggested a concession be given to people who “find this new translation unacceptable” just as one was given to Catholics who prefer the Tridentine Mass in Latin.
It said individual priests would not conform to the new translations and make their own changes as they saw fit.
“As in the past, individual priests will adapt styles to suit individual circumstances whilst being faithful to the key elements of the Eucharistic tradition in the Church,” it said.