While it’s true some clergy have expressed reservations about the new prayers of the Mass, they have also signalled they will support it. There’s a lot of goodwill to make this project work, Auxiliary Bishop Sproxton has told The Record
By Anthony Barich
Priests have a critical obligation to give catechesis during Mass on the theology behind the newly translated Missal to be used in Australian parishes by early next year, Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton said.
Bishop Sproxton, who heads Perth’s Archdiocesan Implementation Committee, told The Record that while most of the changes are perfectly understandable, with some “elevated language” priests must help the faithful understand the theology behind the new texts.
For example, when the congregation says that Jesus Christ is “consubstantial with the Father” rather than “of one being” with the Father in the Nicene Creed, “that’s up to the priest to give a catechesis on that word”.
The Bishop dismissed notions that such phrases are unnecessary as they are not “the language of the street”.
“[Consubstantial] is a difficult term but it is a theological term; so it’s not a question of English, it’s a question of theology,” he said.
“Instead of that idea – that theological point – being lost, here’s an opportunity now for it to be explained.”
At a public session at Servite College last year where then-ICEL (International Commission on English in the Liturgy) executive secretary Mgr Bruce Harbert from the UK spoke on the new translations, some clergy voiced their disapproval to Bishop Sproxton.
“They saw it as something imposed on us, that there was politics involved and that it was a restorative action by the Church, and ‘how dare the Vatican impose something on the Australian Bishops, we should have the right to make our own Missal and do what we like’,” Bishop Sproxton related to The Record.
Some priests have expressed similar sentiments, he said, but “those who said these things also said ‘we’ll do what we’re asked to do’, so there’s a lot of goodwill”.
“I’m quite happy for priests to express reservations about certain aspects of the translations, because even those who were involved in the project had some reservations about some decisions that were made. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing,” he said.
“I can’t think of anyone who will dig in his heels and say ‘I’m not going to do it’. That hasn’t been voiced here. I’m confident that they’ll just do the best for the sake of their people, that they’ll want their people to experience this in a seamless way.
“Personally, I voted for practically all of the changes that we see in the Missal in the (Bishops’) conference because I’ve noticed how beautiful the language is,” Bishop Sproxton said.
“Even before the project began when I was a priest, I noticed that when you compare the (pre-1974 Latin Mass) to the English there’s an awful lot not in that English prayer, and I thought that was selling us short.
“We weren’t getting that whole content of what that Latin was giving, so I think it’s great we’ve got a text which is much closer to that Latin – not because it’s Latin but because of the nature of the prayer, the theological and spiritual content of the prayer, which is now accessible to us through this translation.”
While Australia’s Bishops had initially planned to introduce the Missal by Pentecost, late changes by the Vatican’s Congregation for Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments have meant it has not yet been printed.
Australia’s Bishops are now optimistically planning for its introduction in Advent this year and will distribute ‘Mass cards’ at Pentecost to all parishes and communities to familiarise Catholics with the new texts. The Archdiocese of Perth, believing that introduction of the Mass cards in Pentecost is too early, will distribute them some time before Advent.
Parishes have been allowed to use the sung responses in the new translations in Masses since 1 January.
Pope Benedict XVI said last year that a well-celebrated Mass is the best form of catechesis as the words of the Mass teach exactly what Catholics believe and should help nourish their personal relationship with God.
To this end, a series of workshops will be held across the Archdiocese from February to June to ‘teach the teachers’ of parishes (priests and lay leaders) about Catechesis of the Mass and the implementation of the sung new translation.
Special emphasis will be on the Become One Body One Spirit in Christ interactive DVD resource that will help parish leaders explain the new translations to the faithful. It can even be used in homilies, Bishop Sproxton said.
Special sessions will also be organised for country parishes with video link-ups to ‘telecentres’ in rural areas.
The Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy Executive Secretary, Fr Peter Williams, will also address Perth’s priests at the Vietnamese Catholic Community Centre on 16 and 23 June.
The newly translated parts of the Mass setting in the new Missal are available to parishes from the Archdiocesan Office for Liturgy.
The interactive ICEL DVD resource Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ contains oral teachings on the newly translated parts of the Mass including the Gloria, memorial acclamations and the Holy, Holy. The DVD is available from The Record Bookshop.
Bishop Sproxton said that while the Mass for Moderns, first published in 1972, is popular among parishes, the responses in the new Missal – many of them “Gregorian-like” – will be useful for major events in the diocese and in parishes, and are also good for the sake of uniformity around the diocese.
A new website, www.romanmissal.org.au, will be launched by March to help parishes, communities and individuals implement the new translations.