①「カトリック典礼文の改訂：“典礼の鞭打ち症”になるか？」
By Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post staff reporter 2011/10/28
英語圏のカトリック信者は1960年代以来の典礼に関する最大の変更の締め付けに備えつつあり、この変更が「典礼むち打ち症」の原因となり得ると一部のリーダーたちは警告している。(アメリカでは)11月27日に実施される（典礼の）オーバーホールは、世界10億以上のカトリック信者を、ラテン語典礼の原典に可能な限り近い翻訳を以て統一しようと意図している。それは、教会内で（地方教会での）独自色を制限することになり、カトリシズムとは何かの意味を決定する上でのコントロールを保持しようとここ数十年来努めてきた教会(中央)の成果である。近年の教皇たちは、信仰の正統性(orthodoxy)と位階制を強調している、宗教上のアイデンティティがますます流動的になりつつある西方教会では、特にそれを強調している。カトリック系の病院と学校は教会の教えをより明白に表明すべきことが求められている。教皇ベネディクトXVI世は、他の諸宗教（信仰）を超えるカトリシズムの独占的真理（sole
truth）を強調しており、今月、宗教間対話の行事の中でさえヒンヅー教、ユダヤ教、その他宗教と共に祈ることを断りさえした。新しい典礼文は、ミサの式次第の大部分を変える。祈祷文および司祭と会衆間の応答文が大きく変わり、40歳以下のカトリック信者がこれまでの半生をなじんできた応答文を変えることになる。リーダーの一部はこの変更は、ほとんどを記憶して唱えている典礼のことばになじむ会衆に「典礼上のむち打ち症」を生じる可能性があると警告している。この変更への反応は、ある意味では、1960年代の第二バチカン公会議がカトリック教会を開かれた、現代化を指向して、一掃する変化を実施した時に始まったカトリックの文化上の戦争に油を注ぐ、かなり強烈である。一部の伝統主義者は、新しい典礼文（訳）はより豊かである
? その理由は、会話部分が減り ? 神秘性が一層増し、霊的になったからである、という。（以下略）
② 「カトリシズムを見る別の視点はないのか？」
Bethany J. Meola（読者）の寄稿 2011/11/5
新しいカトリックのミサ典礼文についての不満を述べた10月28日付一面記事を読んで、この変更は権力に飢える位階制指導者が一般信者にその権威を主張する最新の策動だと人は考えるだろう。カトリック信者は、支配権を望む教会リーダーによる「義務」に縛られる、という、言い古された「司祭と信徒」関係の見方が働いていると気づくのはたやすい。
カトリシズムを眺めるもう一つの眼鏡はないのだろうか？
カトリック信者の中には、この新しい典礼文を感謝して期待している人々もいる。筆者もその一人であり、それはわたしだけではない。古いラテン語典礼文に忠実になることで、この新典礼文は、英語圏の信者にとってほんとうに大切な宝となるであろう。そうなのだ。「（三位一体のように）本質が同じとみられる」（“consubstantial”）ということばは、日常的に使われる単語ではない。しかし、愛する者が自分の愛する相手の言い表し難い美しさ（この言葉も正確とはいえないが）を表現する完全な言葉を何とか見出したいと、思い巡らすように、ミサのことばは、我々人間への愛のための人となられた三位一体の神、という究極的には神秘であるものを人のことばに置くことを目的とするのである。新しい典礼文は少なくとも、2千年を経た信仰の、より豊かな、古いテキストにカトリック信者を引き付け、喜んで受け入れるに値するものではないのだろうか。
□■□
Catholics’ Mass liturgy changing; ‘ritual whiplash’ ahead?
By Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post staff reporter
Published: October 28, Washington Post
English-speaking Catholics are bracing for the biggest changes to their Mass since
the 1960s, a shift some leaders warn could cause “ritual whiplash.”
The overhaul, which will become mandatory Nov. 27, is aimed at unifying the more
than 1 billion Catholics worldwide with a translation that is as close as possible
to the original Latin version. It allows for less independence and diversity of
interpretation in a church that in recent decades has tried to retain more control
over how Catholicism is defined.
Recent popes have emphasized orthodoxy and hierarchy, particularly in the West,
where religious identity is increasingly fluid. Catholic hospitals and schools
have been required to more clearly espouse church teachings, and Pope Benedict
XVI has stressed the sole truth of Catholicism over other faiths, even declining
this month to pray with Hindus, Jews and others at an interreligious event.
The new translation changes the majority of sentences in the Mass. The prayers
and call-and-response dialogue between the priest and the congregation are different,
transforming the dialogue that Catholics under 40 have used in church their entire
lives. Some leaders warn that the shift could cause “ritual whiplash” among those
accustomed to a worship script so familiar that most recite it from memory.
Reaction to the changes has been intense, in some ways fueling a Catholic culture
war that began when the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s imposed far more sweeping
changes designed to open up and modernize the church. Some traditionalists say
the new translation of the ritual is richer and ? because it’s less conversational
? more mysterious and spiritual.
“At first I thought it was an affront, the Vatican coming down on us. But after
thinking about it, I see it as something that will bring us all back toward the
center,” said Emily Strand, 35, a former campus minister at the University of
Dayton who has attended Mass regularly throughout her life. “Vatican II was an
excuse for people to do whatever they wanted with the liturgy.”
But more modern Catholics, and some who are already disaffected, say the new language
is an awkward imposition that will distance people from the church. The translation
“wouldn’t affect me going [to church] or not,’’ said Vilma Linares, who was walking
near St. Matthew’s Cathedral earlier this week with a friend at lunchtime. “But
the less conversational the Mass, the more they will alienate people.”
Erie, Pa., Bishop Donald Trautman says that such words as “consubstantial” and
“chalice” and a Jesus “born ineffably of the inviolate Virgin” won’t help Catholics
get closer to God.
“We have to keep in mind these are prayer texts being used by priests at a Mass,”
he said. “People should be able to understand them when they are heard.”
Others, including clergy, have protested that the new translation replaces ones
approved by the U.S. bishops.
Perhaps the most basic change will be when the priest says: “The Lord be with
you.” The congregation will no longer say “And also with you.” The new response
is “And with your spirit.”
Some changes are more controversial. The line that said Jesus died on the cross
“for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven” will change to “for you and
for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Other changes emphasize the difference between common English and Latin: “When
supper was ended, He took the cup” becomes: “In a similar way, when supper was
ended, He took this precious chalice in His holy and venerable hands.”
A poll of Catholics done early this summer by the Center for Applied Research
in the Apostolate showed that 77 percent of respondents were unaware of a forthcoming
new translation. Catholic dioceses and schools began preparations a few months
ago, running workshops and podcasts and updating Web sites to lay out what’s happening
and why.
Millions of books are being replaced; each parish must buy its own. (What becomes
of the old books? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recommends burying them
on church grounds or in a parish cemetery.) While parishes wait for the new ones,
laminated cards will be put in the pews as a guide for worshipers.
Still, church officials say they expect serious confusion when those Catholics
who aren’t connected with Catholic institutions and attend church only on big
holidays, show up for Christmas. The Rev. Michael Wilson of Our Lady Star of the
Sea in Solomons, Md., said he will offer this advice next month to his congregants:
“Okay, folks: Everyone take a deep breath.”
The new translation has been in the works since a decade ago, when Pope John Paul
II called for a full replacement of the one that came out of the 1960s Second
Vatican Council. The thinking that came out of Vatican II was that the Mass script
should be contemporary and paraphrased, that people should pray the way they speak
in regular life.
As a result, pivotal changes were made. Mass was no longer said in Latin, and
priests began facing the congregation (instead of standing with their backs to
the crowd) and preaching more about the Bible rather than only on church doctrine.
Traditionalists worried that having different translations around the world opened
the door to confusion. The past decade has seen much debate in the church about
the new translation, with the Vatican rejecting less-literal translations that
some saw as more poetic and contemporary.
When asked this week about the issue, several priests repeated an inside joke:
What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with
a terrorist.
Catholics who speak other languages are on a later schedule and won’t see any
changes immediately. There is no timeline yet for Spanish-speaking Americans.
But the English version is perhaps the most important to the Vatican, because
booming areas in Asia, including China, use it, not the Latin one, as the basis
of their translations.
Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, executive director of the commission in charge of
English translations of liturgy, said the reforms will promote unity. “The way
we worship is what we believe,” he said. “If you want to have unity of belief,
texts used in worship need to be the same.”
Several priests in the region said the controversy was being overblown.
“There are other things more important to focus on,” said the Rev. Gerry Creedon
of Holy Family in Dale City, “like drone bombings.”
□■□
Letter to the Editor “Another lens for viewing Catholicism”
Bethany J. Meola, Hyattsville 2011/11/05
After reading the Oct. 28 front-page article about the new translation of the
Catholic Mass, one might be forgiven for thinking that the revision is just the
latest scheme by a power-hungry hierarchy to assert its authority over the faithful.
It’s not hard to notice the tired “mitre vs. pew” hermeneutic at work: Catholics
are “bracing” for the “mandatory” change by church leaders who seek “control.”
Is there no other lens for viewing the Catholic Church? There are Catholics who
await the translation with excitement and gratitude. I’m one of them, and I know
I’m not alone.
By being more faithful to the ancient Latin text, the new translation will be
a real treasure for the English-speaking church.
Yes, words like “consubstantial” are not often used in everyday parlance. But
just as a lover scours his mind to find the perfect word to describe his beloved’s
indescribable beauty ? a word ill suited, perhaps, for the checkout line ? so
the words of the Mass aim to put into human language what is ultimately a mystery:
the triune God who became man out of love for us. At least the new translation
will draw Catholics closer to the rich, ancient texts of our 2,000-year-old faith
? something worth embracing.