Petition calls for grassroots review of new Missal translation

A 'Statement of Concern', and petition has been published, appealing to the Vatican to undertake a pilot program in selected parishes around the English-speaking world of the new translation of the Roman Missal before its introduction.

The introduction to the statement says: "It is now forty-five years since the Second Vatican Council promulgated the ground-breaking and liberating document on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. The conciliar document transcended ecclesiastical politics. It was not just the pet project of a party, but the overwhelming consensus of the bishops of the world. Its adoption passed overwhelmingly: 2,147 to 4. In our wildest dreams could we ever have imagined that we would live to witness what seems more and more like the systematic dismantling of the great vision of the Council's decree? But we have."

A STATEMENT OF CONCERN

We are very concerned about the proposed new translations of the Roman Missal. We believe that simply imposing them on our people -- even after a program of preparation -- will have an adverse effect on their prayer and cause serious division in our communities.

We are convinced that adopting translations that are highly controversial, and which leaders among our bishops as well as many highly respected liturgists and linguists consider to be seriously flawed, will be a grave mistake.

For this reason we earnestly implore the bishops of the English-speaking world to undertake a pilot program by which the new translations -- after a careful program of catechesis -- can be introduced into some carefully selected parishes and communities throughout the English-speaking world for a period of one (liturgical) year, after which they can be objectively evaluated.

We are convinced that this approach will address the concerns of those many bishops who feel that they have lost their voice in this matter and that it will also give a voice to the People of God whose prayer is at stake and who accordingly have the most to gain or lose by the translations.

We realize that a pilot project of this kind is unprecedented, but so is the process by which these translations have been approved.

For more information and to see the petition, click on: whatifwejustsaidwait.org/