Online Edition:
December 2010 – January 2011
Vol. XVI, No. 9
News & Views
500 Attend St. Louis Liturgy Conference | ICEL Presents "Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ" | Two New American Cardinals | New Members of USCCB Committee on Divine Worship | Update on the Revised Grail Psalter | Anglican Ordinariate
500 Attend St. Louis Liturgy Conference
The 2010 Gateway Liturgical Conference, held November 4-5 at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, drew a crowd of 500 to hear presentations on the new English translation of the Roman Missal.
Four main sessions exploring aspects of the Missal were given jointly by Father Douglas Martis, director of the Liturgical Institute at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary, and Christopher Costens, director of liturgy for the diocese of LaCrosse, Wisconsin. These sessions, the “Mystical Body, Mystical Voice” program, focused on the sacramental nature of the words used in worship, and very effectively addressed even complex theological and linguistic aspects of the new translation. The presentations were enthusiastically received by the audience of priests, deacons, parish musicians, liturgists, catechists and others.
On Saturday morning, Monsignor Kevin Irwin, of Catholic University of America, explained more about the new translation, and introduced the instructional DVD “Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ”, developed by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), who made the initial translations for presentation to the English-speaking bishops’ conferences.
Three break-out sessions were also offered, on music, liturgical documents, and on the pastoral presentation of the new Missal texts to be introduced on the first Sunday of Advent, 2011. (For more information about the Liturgical Institute presentation Mystical Body, Mystical Voice, go to: mysticalbodymysticalvoice.org).
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ICEL Presents “Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ”
“Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ”, an interactive DVD developed by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) as a catechetical resource for the new translation of the Missal, was presented to Pope Benedict on October 20, during the General Audience.
Bishop Arthur Roche, chairman of ICEL, made the presentation, along with the other bishops of ICEL’s executive committee, and Father Andrew Wadsworth, executive director.
ICEL’s November 5 news release about the event explained that “The resource is intended to assist with catechesis in preparation for the implementation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal. The Holy Father thanked the bishops for their work and underlined the importance of catechesis in preparation for the reception of the new translation”. It continued,
The resource, the most comprehensive of its kind, has been more than two years in the making and draws upon the work of an international panel of scholars together with interviews with a wide range of those involved in pastoral ministry. It uses video footage filmed all over the English-speaking world by the Australian multi-media company, Fraynework, a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.
The resource is designed both for individual study and group catechesis and offers a rich multi-level approach to theological, historical and liturgical aspects of our celebration of the Eucharist. It provides an explanation of the translation process together with an exploration of the new texts. It also considers the implications of a new translation for liturgical music and ministries. For further information, please consult becomeonebodyonespiritinchrist.org.
The US representative to ICEL is Bishop Arthur Serratelli, who served as chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship from 2007-2010.
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Pope Benedict XVI elevated twenty-four new cardinals on November 20 — among them two Americans: Washington DC archbishop Donald Wuerl, and prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and former archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Burke.
Cardinal Wuerl, 70, was bishop of his native Pittsburgh from 1988-2006. He was appointed archbishop of the nation’s capital in May 2006.
Cardinal Burke, 62, a native of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, served as archbishop of St. Louis from 2004-2008, before he was appointed to head the Church’s “supreme court”, the Apostolic Signatura, in June 2008.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, former secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is also among the new cardinals. Cardinal Ranjith, 63, a native of Sri Lanka, served at the CDW from December 2005 until his appointment as archbishop of Colombo in June 2009.
On Sunday November 21, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Holy Father presided at a concelebrated Mass with the new cardinals, and gave them the cardinal’s ring, “the sign of dignity, pastoral care and the most solid communion with the See of Peter”.
The College of Cardinals now has 203 members, of whom 121 are electors. The members of the College, by continent of origin, are divided as follows: 111 from Europe, 21 from North America, 31 from South America, 17 from Africa, 19 from Asia and 4 from Oceania.
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New Members of USCCB Committee on Divine Worship
Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans began his three-year term as chairman of the US Bishops Committee on Divine Worship (BCDW) immediately following the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ plenary meeting in Baltimore, November 15-18, 2010. Archbishop Aymond, who succeeded Bishop Arthur Serratelli, became chairman-elect in November 2009.
Archbishop Aymond has named the following bishops as members of the BCDW:
Cardinal Francis E. George, OMI, Chicago; Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, Philadelphia; Bishop Edward K. Braxton, Belleville; Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, Paterson; Bishop Ronald P. Herzog, Alexandria, Louisiana; Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Brownsville; Bishop Octavio Cisneros, auxiliary, Brooklyn; Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, auxiliary, Philadelphia.
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Update on the Revised Grail Psalter
The US Bishops Committee on Divine Worship (BCDW) recently responded to queries about the status of the new translation of the Grail Psalter, revised by Conception Abbey, that will be used in liturgical books.
In a letter dated October 10, 2010, the BCDW said that Conception Abbey “has been undertaking that review process. When the process is complete, the psalter will be made available”. The letter also said,
Once released, the Revised Grail Psalter may be used in the liturgy alongside the existing New American Bible psalter, which continues as the psalter in the Lectionary. When the Lectionary for Mass is fully revised in several years’ time, the Revised Grail Psalter will be incorporated into it. Until then, the NAB psalter will remain normative, while allowing for the use of the Revised Grail.
The revised psalter was approved by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for all liturgical use in June 2008, and submitted to the Holy See for official approval (recognitio). The recognitio was given by the Holy See on March 19, 2010, along with a list of revisions to be made.
UPDATE: December 1, 2010 – Press release from GIA on Psalter approval, publication.
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The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) has announced the imminent establishment of the Anglican ordinariate, a new governing body for Anglicans who enter the Catholic Church as a group. In a November 19 statement on the implementation of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, issued in November 2009, the bishops expressed hope that the ordinariate will be established in January 2011.
Five Anglican bishops who intend to enter the ordinariate announced their decision to resign from ministry in the Church of England effective December 31, and will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church early in January 2011. The CBCEW Statement said further,
During the same month, it is expected that the Decree establishing the Ordinariate will be issued and the name of the Ordinary to be appointed announced. Soon afterwards, those non-retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF [Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith], will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood for service in the Ordinariate.
It is expected that the retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood prior to Lent.
The plan anticipates that other Anglicans might be received into the Church during Holy Week. The CBCEW Statement on the Implementation of Anglicanorum Coetibus was posted on its web site: www.cbcew.org.uk.
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