Protestant Bible in a Catholic School!

[Huguenot]

JoeyWarren:

Each class is like the individual answer you get when you ask a question here.

Thanks for your information ( both messages )

 

[Huguenot]

Tonyagrace:

From the Modern Catholic Dictionary By Father John A. Hardon S.J. 1980

**Imprimatur- ** The latin term for “let it be printed,” which signifies the approval by a bishop of a reliegious work for publication. Authors are at liberty to obtain the imprimatur where they reside, or where the book is to be published, or where it is printed. Generally the imprimatur, along with the bishops name and date of approval is to be shown in the publication. According to a decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (1975), “The Pastors of the Church have the duty and the right to be vigilant lest teh faith and morals of the faithful be harmed by its writings; and consequently even to demand that the publication of writings concerning the faith and morals should be submitted to the Church’s approval, and also to condemn books and writings that attack faith or morals.”

Nihil Obstat- Approved by the diocesan censor to publish a manyscript dealing with faith or morals. The date of the approval and the name of the person approving are normally printed in teh front of the book along with a bishop’s imprimatur.

I didn’t know a bishop or a diocesan censor ( I don’t even know what it is … ) could give the “imprimatur” or the “nihil obstat”, I thought only someone in the Vatican could …( the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for instance )…

 

[Joseph_Kopsho]

There is nothing wrong with there being a Protestant Version of the Holy Bible in a Catholic Parochial School along with the Catholic Version of the Holy Bible. Catholics are permitted to own both the Catholic Version of the Holy Bible and the Protestant Version of the Holy Bible. My Priest states that it is ok for Catholics to read and own both the Catholic Version and the Protestant Version of the Holy Bible. I own and I read both the Catholic Version and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

 

[Lapsed]

Huguenot:

I didn’t know a bishop or a diocesan censor ( I don’t even know what it is … ) could give the “imprimatur” or the “nihil obstat”, I thought only someone in the Vatican could …( the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for instance )…

They are given at the diocesan level. They can be granted by the diocese where the book is published, where the writer resides, or any diocese where they are used.

The Imprimatur can also be granted by a council of bishops, and thus approved for all diocese governed by that council. An example of that is the New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edtion, which bears an Imprimatur from the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops for all of Canada, and is the text approved for liturgical use in Canada.

There is also the Imprimi potest, which is an official approval by the religious superior (or their representative) of a religious order to publish a work. It indicates that a work by a member of the religious order has been approved for publication by their superiors. This is the mark which the Catechism bears.

 

[Huguenot]

Lapsed:

They are given at the diocesan level. They can be granted by the diocese where the book is published, where the writer resides, or any diocese where they are used.

The Imprimatur can also be granted by a council of bishops, and thus approved for all diocese governed by that council. An example of that is the New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edtion, which bears an Imprimatur from the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops for all of Canada, and is the text approved for liturgical use in Canada.

There is also the Imprimi potest, which is an official approval by the religious superior (or their representative) of a religious order to publish a work. It indicates that a work by a member of the religious order has been approved for publication by their superiors. This is the mark which the Catechism bears.

Thanks for the information ; the Catholic Church is not as centralized as I thought then …

 

[joshua_b]

Huguenot:

Thanks for the information ; the Catholic Church is not as centralized as I thought then …

Actually, the more you hang out here with us “Romanists” (everyone relax…its a lame attempt at humor) the more you’ll learn exactly how diverse yet completely unified the Catholic Church really is. Most everything in the Roman Rite is handled at the Diocesan level. The Bishops are the ones in charge of most all of the decisions made within the diocese. The Pope, in the strictest sense, is nothing more than the Bishop of Rome. Of course, he is also successor to St. Peter, and is therefore able to “bind and loose” and all other Bishops must be in communion with him to be Catholic.

Back to the original question, I think this issue is ultimately one for the Bishop to decide. I personally feel that the Catholic translation should be used in a Catholic school, and I would like to think that it would have the Impremateur and Nihil Obstat, because how else can we be certain that we are not teaching error to our children ? I think the best course of action would be to start with the Principal of the school, and then possibly the head Pastor of the parish. If you still don’t like what your hearing, the next step would be a letter to the bishop of your diocese. I can certainly see huguenots sentiment (“whats the big deal ?”) and it may very well NOT be a big deal, but it would still be best to use Catholic sources to teach Catholic beliefs in a Catholic school, and I would at least bring that to the attention of the powers that be.

 

[Crumpy]

Tonyagrace:

Help, My kids go to Catholic School and I just found out they are using the Good News Bible (Protestant). What can I do? The Religious Education Dept at our Parish ALSO is using the Good News Bible (Protestant) in their Teen Groups. Help!

Can you tell us where this parish is located?

 

[Huguenot]

joshua_b:

Actually, the more you hang out here with us “Romanists” (everyone relax…its a lame attempt at humor) the more you’ll learn exactly how diverse yet completely unified the Catholic Church really is. Most everything in the Roman Rite is handled at the Diocesan level. The Bishops are the ones in charge of most all of the decisions made within the diocese. The Pope, in the strictest sense, is nothing more than the Bishop of Rome. Of course, he is also successor to St. Peter, and is therefore able to “bind and loose” and all other Bishops must be in communion with him to be Catholic.

Back to the original question, I think this issue is ultimately one for the Bishop to decide. I personally feel that the Catholic translation should be used in a Catholic school, and I would like to think that it would have the Impremateur and Nihil Obstat, because how else can we be certain that we are not teaching error to our children ? I think the best course of action would be to start with the Principal of the school, and then possibly the head Pastor of the parish. If you still don’t like what your hearing, the next step would be a letter to the bishop of your diocese. I can certainly see huguenots sentiment (“whats the big deal ?”) and it may very well NOT be a big deal, but it would still be best to use Catholic sources to teach Catholic beliefs in a Catholic school, and I would at least bring that to the attention of the powers that be.

Don’t worry, Romanist ( well if you call yourself like that …is it normally pejorative or something ???), I also find it logical to use a Catholic translation of the Bible in a Catholic school…
Thanks for all you said about the Imprimatur , Nihil Obstat ( I’ll have to start learning Latin … ), it explains a “scandal” that happened in France recently, I mean it was scandalous for many Catholics too : they republished a book written by …I don’t remember whom, a Catholic author of the 19 th century if I’m not mistaken, in which he says, among other things, something like : “all is submitted to Mary even God !” !!! well, many Catholics were shocked by this statement ( and you can imagine us Protestants … ) and by the fact that the book had “Imprimatur”…Maybe some Catholics didn’t bother too much because they know that “Imprimatur” can be granted locally, but “we” jumped to the ceiling : whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat ? is that the official teaching of the Catholic Church ??? ( because until I read some posts here, I–and I think it is the case of many Protestants–thought that “Imprimatur” could be given only by “the big boss”, the Pope or his counsellors, anyway by somebody in the Vatican …)

 

[silverwings_88]

Bonjour, et Dieu vous bénisse de Colombie Britannique! C’est si bon qu’on utilise le TOB pour une Bible vraiment oecuménique, quoique c’est pas poetique…

Well, I would say, at a Catholic level and when Jesus was a boy, he did in a way submit to Mary, as a child to his mother (John 2:4-5). If that phrase were in the context as Mary being equal to or greater than God, then I would question it.

Even with an Imprimatur, one should still always question the source, and also try to understand whatever is written through context. One example, the NAB…

Huguenot:

Don’t worry, Romanist ( well if you call yourself like that …is it normally pejorative or something ???), I also find it logical to use a Catholic translation of the Bible in a Catholic school…
Thanks for all you said about the Imprimatur , Nihil Obstat ( I’ll have to start learning Latin … ), it explains a “scandal” that happened in France recently, I mean it was scandalous for many Catholics too : they republished a book written by …I don’t remember whom, a Catholic author of the 19 th century if I’m not mistaken, in which he says, among other things, something like : “all is submitted to Mary even God !” !!! well, many Catholics were shocked by this statement ( and you can imagine us Protestants … ) and by the fact that the book had “Imprimatur”…Maybe some Catholics didn’t bother too much because they know that “Imprimatur” can be granted locally, but “we” jumped to the ceiling : whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat ? is that the official teaching of the Catholic Church ??? ( because until I read some posts here, I–and I think it is the case of many Protestants–thought that “Imprimatur” could be given only by “the big boss”, the Pope or his counsellors, anyway by somebody in the Vatican …)

 

[Huguenot]

silverwings_88:

Bonjour, et Dieu vous bénisse de Colombie Britannique! C’est si bon qu’on utilise le TOB pour une Bible vraiment oecuménique, quoique c’est pas poetique…

Well, I would say, at a Catholic level and when Jesus was a boy, he did in a way submit to Mary, as a child to his mother (John 2:4-5). If that phrase were in the context as Mary being equal to or greater than God, then I would question it.

Even with an Imprimatur, one should still always question the source, and also try to understand whatever is written through context. One example, the NAB…

As a child Jesus probably also submitted to Joseph, if He obeyed his parents, but the sentence that shocked even my Catholic compatriots didn’t mention JESUS being submitted to Mary ( as a child ) but GOD being submitted to her …
Well, I don’t find the TOB translation especially unpoetical …
Thank you for writing a few words in my language, God bless you too !!!

 

[Big_Dave]

Lapsed:

There is actually a Catholic edition of the GNB that bears an imprimatur, though I do not know if it also bears a nihls obstat. As a kid, this was the translation used in my catechism classes in my parish.

Then again, this is Canada, where the liturgical translation is the NRSV.

The biggest problem with the GNB is that it is closer to a paraphrase than a translation. It’s used for children because it uses basic english and is easy to understand. Unfortunately, it is also robbed of its power by the efforts to make it that way.

Good for you!!! From a Protestant!! The Good News Bible is NOT a translation at all. It IS a paraphrase that was made by a Southern Baptist Minister!! I was told this by my pastor. It ia a good 1st Bible for young kids to read cause its easy to understand. But I would in no way base my theology upon it. One friend of mine calls it the bad news bible.

 

[Big_Dave]

Lapsed:

There is actually a Catholic edition of the GNB that bears an imprimatur, though I do not know if it also bears a nihls obstat. As a kid, this was the translation used in my catechism classes in my parish.

Then again, this is Canada, where the liturgical translation is the NRSV.

The biggest problem with the GNB is that it is closer to a paraphrase than a translation. It’s used for children because it uses basic english and is easy to understand. Unfortunately, it is also robbed of its power by the efforts to make it that way.

Good for you!!! From a Protestant!! The Good News Bible is NOT a translation at all. It IS a paraphrase that was made by a Southern Baptist Minister!! I was told this by my pastor. It ia a good 1st Bible for young kids to read cause its easy to understand. But I would in no way base my theology upon it. One friend of mine calls it the bad news bible.

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

Tonyagrace:

Help, My kids go to Catholic School and I just found out they are using the Good News Bible (Protestant). What can I do? The Religious Education Dept at our Parish ALSO is using the Good News Bible (Protestant) in their Teen Groups. Help!

Write a letter to the principal and suggest that a proper Catholic Bible be used in the school.

The NAB, Douay-Rheims Version, RSV-CE, Jerusalem Bible, etc.