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malcolm_davies
Guest
From John Allen in the National Catholic Reporter:
The Vox Clara Committee, an advisory body to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on matters of liturgical translation in English, met at the Vatican July 5-7.
Members reviewed draft translations of the new Sacramentary, or book of prayers for the Mass, produced by the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), and discussed the translation process to see where improvements could be made. Members of Vox Clara were presented to Benedict XVI during the General Audience on July 6, and then had a luncheon afterwards.
“The members noted, with great satisfaction, that the most recent renderings of ICEL constitute an immense step forward in the translation project of the Roman Rite as envisioned by the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam,” a July 8 press statement read.
That statement indicated that Vox Clara hopes that ICEL can finish its work on the Sacramentary in a hurry.
“While the Committee shares the general concern for the reception of these texts by the Bishops, priests and people of the English-speaking world, the members expressed their conviction that this reception would be impeded by delays in a timely completion of the project.” The release also said that Vox Clara has completed work on a draft Ratio Translationis, meaning a set of guidelines for translation of liturgical texts into English. It’s intended to set out the “rules of the game” for ICEL translators and others.
Vox Clara will meet again in November 2005.
As the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was well aware of the debates surrounding liturgical translation in English, and knows the principal figures well. In fact, on July 6, when one consultor was presented to the pope, Benedict, who obviously recognized the man, smiled and said: “So, you’re still writing about liturgy?” It was one more small sign that Benedict XVI has a consummate grasp of the players and issues in intra-ecclesiastical debates; he does not need a scorecard to follow the game.
The Vox Clara Committee, an advisory body to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on matters of liturgical translation in English, met at the Vatican July 5-7.
Members reviewed draft translations of the new Sacramentary, or book of prayers for the Mass, produced by the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), and discussed the translation process to see where improvements could be made. Members of Vox Clara were presented to Benedict XVI during the General Audience on July 6, and then had a luncheon afterwards.
“The members noted, with great satisfaction, that the most recent renderings of ICEL constitute an immense step forward in the translation project of the Roman Rite as envisioned by the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam,” a July 8 press statement read.
That statement indicated that Vox Clara hopes that ICEL can finish its work on the Sacramentary in a hurry.
“While the Committee shares the general concern for the reception of these texts by the Bishops, priests and people of the English-speaking world, the members expressed their conviction that this reception would be impeded by delays in a timely completion of the project.” The release also said that Vox Clara has completed work on a draft Ratio Translationis, meaning a set of guidelines for translation of liturgical texts into English. It’s intended to set out the “rules of the game” for ICEL translators and others.
Vox Clara will meet again in November 2005.
As the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was well aware of the debates surrounding liturgical translation in English, and knows the principal figures well. In fact, on July 6, when one consultor was presented to the pope, Benedict, who obviously recognized the man, smiled and said: “So, you’re still writing about liturgy?” It was one more small sign that Benedict XVI has a consummate grasp of the players and issues in intra-ecclesiastical debates; he does not need a scorecard to follow the game.