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Altered Mass language irks some

Other clerics and parishioners welcome the bishops’ decision to return the Catholic liturgy’s wording closer to its Latin roots.

By SHERRI DAY
Published June 16, 2006

The Rev.  Robert Schneider likes Mass the way it is.

Schneider, pastor of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor, prefers the conversational language of the current liturgy, which church leaders created in the 1960s after the second Vatican Council.

But that Mass, which has become familiar to a generation of Catholics in the United States, likely will soon change.

Members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted Thursday to change the wording of Mass to more closely resemble its original Latin.

The new version, complete with words like “consubstantial,” will do away with several well-known phrases uttered in prayers, blessings, rites and creeds.

Now, when Schneider looks out on his congregation and says, “The Lord be with you,” his parishioners will answer,

“And with your spirit.”

“When we greet somebody in ordinary English, we say, 'You have a good day,’” Schneider said. “I don’t say, 'May your spirit be happy today.’”

As word of the impending changes spread to Catholics around the country and the 350,000 faithful in the five-county Diocese of St. Petersburg Friday, church leaders began to weigh what the proposed changes would mean for priests and the parishioners they serve.

The new wording would affect Mass at every Western, English-speaking Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. Though under the auspices of the Vatican, Eastern Roman Catholic Churches have their own separate divine liturgy and should expect no changes. Mass in Spanish-speaking congregations also will remain untouched, as their translation closely resembles the original Latin, church leaders said.

It could take as long as two years before the changes debut in local parishes. The bishops’ alterations must first get approval from the Vatican.

Already, local pastors are thinking about readying their flocks.

Schneider expects to hold  forums, provide explanations and give instructions to parishioners in Mass.

“It’s not going to be that drastic,” he said. “We’ll adjust.”

In dealing with liturgical changes, Monsignor Laurence E. Higgins, pastor of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Tampa, is an experienced hand.

Higgins, 77, spent the first 12 years of his priesthood saying Mass in Latin. After the Second Vatican Council modernized many aspects of the church, he adopted the English translation. He welcomes the changes.

“I’m older now, and when you get older, it’s harder to switch,” said Higgins, who will celebrate his 53rd year of ordination next week. “It’ll take me a little time to get accustomed to the words again, but that’s not a problem.”

Higgins plans to seek help from the diocese in retraining his flock.

The Rev. Len Plazewski, head of vocations for the diocese, said the church’s staff likely would offer workshops for priests and parish leaders and provide handouts and assistance to local churches as they seek to explain the changes.

Scholars say the proposed changes, which will affect prayers, blessings and creeds such as the Nicene Creed and the Communion prayer, come as little surprise. Church leaders in Rome have pushed for a return to a more accurate translation of Mass since the early days of Pope John Paul II’s pontificate.

Thursday’s vote, propelled by pressure from the Vatican, could signal a defining moment in the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, who has largely avoided major controversy since becoming pope in 2005, some scholars said.

“It’s kind of micromanaging from Rome, and apparently some, perhaps even a good number of, American bishops resent that a little bit,” said Darrell Fasching, a professor of religious studies at the University of South Florida. “In the end, what Rome says kind of goes.”

Bishop Robert N. Lynch, who heads the St. Petersburg diocese, attended the bishops conference in Los Angeles. Diocesan officials said they did not know how he voted on the proposed Mass changes. Lynch could not be reached for comment.

Though most scholars and priests agree that the proposed language changes are incremental, some worry the new translation will make Mass more confusing and theological.

“I feel sorry for the poor pastor who has to get up in front of the congregation and explain these changes and explain why these changes are better than what the people are doing right now,” said the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a priest and senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and author of Inside the Vatican .

“I think it was a big mistake, but we’re stuck with it.”

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the proposed changes lies within the hearts of lay Catholics, who for more than 35 years have grown accustomed to the current wording of Mass.

Silvia Rivera worries about the inclusion of theological words whose meaning is not easily decipherable.

“Imagine having to pray a prayer that you can’t even understand what you’re praying,” said Rivera, 49, who attends Church of the Incarnation in Town ’N Country. “But whatever the church decides, they know what’s best. I’ll abide by the rules.”Eileen O’Leary, 66, predicts her generation will struggle with the changes.

“When people get older, they get very set in their ways,” said O’Leary, parish administrator at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City Center. “A lot of people will have a tough time with it. They had a tough time in ’65 after the Second Vatican Council.”

For Vi Zitale, a member at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, the changes are no big deal.

“It’s funny because I just bought myself a Catholic Missal,” Zitale said, referring to the book that contains the complete wording of Masses and ceremonies. “I thought, 'Oh, now what are you doing?’ But I’m not bothered by it.”
Diocesan priest Plazewski suspects that in the early days of the switch, like many others, he’ll rely less on his memory and spend more time reading from the Missal.

“It’ll be a year or two after it gets implemented before people get accustomed to it,” he said. “In five years, people won’t even remember what the other one was.”

Sherri Day can be reached at (813) 226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 16, 2006, 22:55:30]