Apr 15, 2004

News & Views

Online Edition – Vol. X, No. 2 & 3: April – May 2004

News & Views

ICEL PrelatesInternational Eucharistic Congress in GuadalajaraVolume Marks 40th Anniversary of Council’s Constitution on LiturgyCardinal Arinze to Speak at Thomas Aquinas College CommencementHomer Nods …Favor or Grace

ICEL Prelates

Recent appointments of bishops associated with the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) were reported by the Vatican Information Service (VIS) April 7:

Bishop Arthur Roche, president of ICEL and chairman of the Liturgy Committee for the bishops’ conference of England and Wales, succeeds Bishop David Konstant as head of the diocese of Leeds, England. Bishop Roche, former auxiliary bishop of Westminster and former secretary of the Liturgy Committee, was made co-adjutor bishop of Leeds in 2002. Bishop Konstant, 74, who has led the diocese of Leeds since 1985, resigned "in accordance with Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law".

Also on April 7, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Maurice Taylor, now 78, a former president of ICEL (1997-2002), who had led the diocese of Galloway for 23 years. As president of ICEL, Bishop Taylor was a strong critic of the Holy See’s involvement in liturgical translation, and publicly opposed the restructuring of ICEL. Monsignor John Cunningham, vicar general of the diocese of Paisley, Scotland, since 1997, a canon lawyer and former head of the Scottish Marriage Tribunal, was appointed to succeed Bishop Taylor. The bishop-elect was born in Paisley in 1938 and was ordained priest in 1961.

Sources: Vatican Information Service, web sites of Leeds, Galloway, Paisley, Conference of Bishops of Scotland, Conference of Bishops of England and Wales

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International Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara

The 48th International Eucharistic Congress will be held October 10-17, 2004, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The theme of the Congress is "The Eucharist, Light and Life of the New Millennium".  The Congress plans include presentations by Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, Archbishop of Guadalajara, and Cardinal Francis Arinze of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Pope John Paul II may also attend. The last International Eucharistic Congress was held in Rome during the Jubilee Year 2000.

Following are quotations from the introduction to the preliminary text for the Congress by Cardinal Sandoval:

"His pilgrim Church, looking gratefully towards the Eucharistic Jesus Christ, will gather in contemplation at the 48th International Eucharistic Congress at the city of Guadalajara, in Mexico…. Gathered in prayer, contemplation and celebration at the Statio orbis of this Congress, the Church plunges into the new millennium with renewed hope, adoring the Eucharistic Jesus, who is the light and life of humanity’s pilgrimage in pursuit of better living conditions, while yearning for its ultimate fatherland". 

"The next International Eucharistic Congress should be for the Church a wonderful opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ, present in it, worshipping Him publicly in the bonds of charity and unity. This will be a magnificent event at which the Church will manifest its faith in the Eucharistic Presence. It will enable a deepening of some aspects of this mystery. It will highlight the central place of the Eucharist in the Church’s life and mission in the world today, as new commitments regarding evangelization are undertaken. To achieve these objectives a painstaking preparation is required". 

For registration and other information, visit the web page of the Congress at the following address: www.congresoeucaristico.org/en/Index.html

Source: International Eucharistic Congress web site

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Volume Marks 40th Anniversary of Council’s Constitution on Liturgy

On April 2, 2004, Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, presented "Spiritus et Sponsa", a collection of the presentations given on the Commemorative Day of the 40th Anniversary of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. The symposium took place in Rome on December 4, 2003.

Joining him at the Holy See’s Press office for the presentation were Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, Congregation secretary, Father Juan Javier Flores Arcas, director of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm (Rome), and Monsignor Giuseppe Liberto, choir master of the Pontifical Musical Chorus.

Cardinal Arinze said that, given that "the Liturgy is the highest expression of the mysterious reality of the Church", the very first fruit of Vatican Council II was the document on the sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, which was then followed by 15 other conciliar documents. He added that it was to be expected that the congregation he leads would commemorate the 40th anniversary of that first council document.

"Spiritus et Sponsa" is divided into two parts. The first consists of two documents of John Paul II: the Apostolic Letter Spiritus et Sponsa, from which the new book takes its title, and a Chirograph dated November 22, 2003, which commemorates the centenary of Saint Pius X’s Tra le sollecitudini, on sacred music. The second part, said the cardinal, "moves in three directions", offering a retrospective look at the past 40 years, reflections on the Liturgy in the pontificate of John Paul II and a section dedicated entirely to sacred music.

This volume, stated Cardinal Arinze, "wishes to testify to the validity of the directives of Vatican Council II on the sacred Liturgy" and "we also hope that this is a small step in promoting the liturgical and pastoral formation of the clergy, consecrated persons and all the lay faithful, in line with duties assigned them in [Apostolic Constitution] Pastor bonus".

Source: Vatican Information Service

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Cardinal Arinze to Speak at Thomas Aquinas College Commencement

Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, is to preside at commencement ceremonies at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, on Saturday, May 15, 2004, according to a TAC press release dated March 24.

College president Dr. Thomas Dillon and the chairman of the TAC board will present Cardinal Arinze with the college’s Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion, for extraordinary dedication to God and His Church.

Dr. Dillon said he’s spoken with the cardinal in Rome, and says that he is "deeply impressed by [Cardinal Arinze’s] humility, his great kindness and his genuine priestly concern about souls".

Last year, controversy erupted after Cardinal Arinze presented a commencement address at Georgetown University‘s Liberal Arts school. The brief address, which affirmed Church teaching on basic moral issues, became "controversial" when several members of the faculty protested and at least one walked out.

(See the design for the new chapel at TAC by Duncan Stroik, page 10.) – Info: www.thomasaquinas.edu/news

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Homer Nods …

Our readers are so astute we ought to start giving out prizes! The March 2004 Adoremus Bulletin was chock-full of errors — many thanks to those of you who keep us on our toes!

In the article "Bishops Receive ICEL Missal Texts; Translation Norms", the date of the new Missal’s release should have been March 2002. We regret the typo.

In the article on the Annunciation (page 12), it was erroneously stated that Inauguration Day in the United States was on March 25. However, the president was typically sworn into office on March 4 or 5, until the date was changed to January 20 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. (In fact, George Washington was first inaugurated on April 30!)

These errors have been corrected on the web editions of these articles.

Also, some readers noticed that titles of the stories on this page were missing in the March issue. We apologize for the error. The web version of the News and Views page has the story titles in place.

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Favor or Grace

Several readers objected to the translation in paragraph 3 of the Annunciation article (AB March, p. 12), wherein the angelic salutation in Luke 1:28 is rendered "highly favored" instead of "full of grace". One reader said, "this is just another modernistic misinterpretation of the Bible".

Although "grace", in Christian theology, actually means God’s "favor" (and the angel continues, "Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God"), we agree that the most accurate translation of the angelic salutation in Luke 1:28 is "full of grace"; thus we have changed this on our web version of the article.

It is worth noting that the readers’ objections point to one of the problems with having multiple translations of Scripture texts in use. The New American Bible (1986 New Testament) renders the salutation, "Hail, favored one" — and this is the version you will find in any current edition of the New American Bible in Catholic book stores, as authorized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The 1970 Lectionary for Mass said, "Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!"; while the new Lectionary, in use only since May 2002, returns to, "Hail, full of grace!" — as it was in the Douay version. This is, of course, the familiar English version used in the Rosary (adding the name "Mary"), translating the Vulgate (Latin), "Ave, gratia plena", and the Greek, "Xaire, kexaritomeun" (Hail, [one] receiving grace).

We hope that whenever the NAB is revised in accordance with Liturgiam authenticam that it will also be changed to read, "Hail, full of grace".

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The Editors