Thursday, June 15, 2006
Well it's about damn time...
The bishops are going to vote on the new Mass translation...will it pass? They need 2/3 of the conference and I just don't see them getting it. At last polling, only 52% thought it was an excellent or good translation. The other 48% thought it was fair or poor. There are, however, a possibility that could cause passage...
A few of Their Excellencies who think the translation was "fair" could be influenced by the fact that their collegues in England, Wales and Australia have already approved the translations.
I've read the new translations, at least what is believed to be the new translations. They are quite beautiful and elegant. I say "what is believed to be the new translations" because Rome and the USCCB have been playing "Missal Wars" (pardon the pun) for a few years now. Vox Clara (the group approved by the Vatican to write the new translations) would send the new missal translation to the USCCB, the bishops would ammend a few things and then send it to Rome for approval and Rome would send it back and say "No dice...try again". This time we might actually get an agreement.
The chief opponent of the translations is Bishop Donald Trautman, Bishop of Erie and chairman of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy. Read the article linked above and read what his arguments are. I must say, they're the same old arguments that have been floating around the "progressive" wing of the Church since before the council. The crux of it being: "People in the pews are too stupid to understand the faith". You know what? If we keep dumbing down the liturgy, theology and the faith in general, that's going to become more and more true.
Mother Church in America is falling victim to what all aspects of our culture are: absolute dumbing down. People are too stupid to take things the way they are and, if neccessary, learn something about them. Doctrine and Dogma are just for theologians now. If you know something about the Deposit of the Faith and actually follow it, well then you're just pre-conciliar. A legalistic dogma-quoter who doesn't care about people.
Quite the contrary; I think it is us doctrinal watchdogs that have the MOST faith in people. Who care the most for people. We believe that people have the ability to understand the faith. To understand doctrine and dogma and the Deposit of Faith. We believe that pastors of souls have the ability to explain, to even those with the least intelligence, the basic tenants of the Deposit of Faith.
That's another thing that has to stop; the continuous fight between the dogmatic, doctinal perfectionists and the pastoral, people folks. The dogmatics have a duty to protect the precious faith that we have been entrusted with. The pastoral types must work WITH the dogmatic types to put a pastoral face on the dogma of the Church. This constant fighting between the dogmatics and the pastorals; the dogmatics being hardline, without discussion of how to implement it's belief; the pastorals continuously trying to bend the rules so that the people will be able to accept them without major amounts of meditation.
The perfect combination of pastoral and dogmatic was found, in my opinion, in the person of the Servant of God John Paul the Great. He was the ultimate pastor, but in his writings and teachings, we found absolute fidelity to doctrine, dogma and the Deposit of Faith.
The vote is expected the weekend after Corpus Christi. Come to TMSA for your USCCB liturgy vote coverage!
The bishops are going to vote on the new Mass translation...will it pass? They need 2/3 of the conference and I just don't see them getting it. At last polling, only 52% thought it was an excellent or good translation. The other 48% thought it was fair or poor. There are, however, a possibility that could cause passage...
A few of Their Excellencies who think the translation was "fair" could be influenced by the fact that their collegues in England, Wales and Australia have already approved the translations.
I've read the new translations, at least what is believed to be the new translations. They are quite beautiful and elegant. I say "what is believed to be the new translations" because Rome and the USCCB have been playing "Missal Wars" (pardon the pun) for a few years now. Vox Clara (the group approved by the Vatican to write the new translations) would send the new missal translation to the USCCB, the bishops would ammend a few things and then send it to Rome for approval and Rome would send it back and say "No dice...try again". This time we might actually get an agreement.
The chief opponent of the translations is Bishop Donald Trautman, Bishop of Erie and chairman of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy. Read the article linked above and read what his arguments are. I must say, they're the same old arguments that have been floating around the "progressive" wing of the Church since before the council. The crux of it being: "People in the pews are too stupid to understand the faith". You know what? If we keep dumbing down the liturgy, theology and the faith in general, that's going to become more and more true.
Mother Church in America is falling victim to what all aspects of our culture are: absolute dumbing down. People are too stupid to take things the way they are and, if neccessary, learn something about them. Doctrine and Dogma are just for theologians now. If you know something about the Deposit of the Faith and actually follow it, well then you're just pre-conciliar. A legalistic dogma-quoter who doesn't care about people.
Quite the contrary; I think it is us doctrinal watchdogs that have the MOST faith in people. Who care the most for people. We believe that people have the ability to understand the faith. To understand doctrine and dogma and the Deposit of Faith. We believe that pastors of souls have the ability to explain, to even those with the least intelligence, the basic tenants of the Deposit of Faith.
That's another thing that has to stop; the continuous fight between the dogmatic, doctinal perfectionists and the pastoral, people folks. The dogmatics have a duty to protect the precious faith that we have been entrusted with. The pastoral types must work WITH the dogmatic types to put a pastoral face on the dogma of the Church. This constant fighting between the dogmatics and the pastorals; the dogmatics being hardline, without discussion of how to implement it's belief; the pastorals continuously trying to bend the rules so that the people will be able to accept them without major amounts of meditation.
The perfect combination of pastoral and dogmatic was found, in my opinion, in the person of the Servant of God John Paul the Great. He was the ultimate pastor, but in his writings and teachings, we found absolute fidelity to doctrine, dogma and the Deposit of Faith.
The vote is expected the weekend after Corpus Christi. Come to TMSA for your USCCB liturgy vote coverage!
