The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced April 30 that the Vatican has given its "recognitio," or confirmation, of the new English translation of the Roman Missal, but said the exact date for its implementation in U.S. parishes remains to be determined.The approval came in a letter dated March 25 from Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect for the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, although the missal is still undergoing final editing by Vatican officials, the USCCB announcement said.
The Vatican also approved a series of adaptations and proper texts for use in the United States.
Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, USCCB president, received the decrees personally while he was in Rome for meetings of the Vox Clara Committee, an international group of bishops who advise the divine worship congregation about English liturgical translations.
Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, expressed gratitude for the approval.
"I am happy that after years of study and review, the congregation for divine worship has concluded its work and provided us with a text that will enable the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the sacred liturgy in our parishes," he said.
In the coming weeks, Bishop Serratelli's committee will give Cardinal George its recommendation on when to implement the new translation in U.S. parishes. The cardinal will then announce the date to the bishops, along with an implementation timeline and process.
A parish implementation guide has been in development at the USCCB and will be distributed to parishes throughout the country when the timeline has been set. In addition, priests and diocesan worship officials have been participating in a series of workshops to help prepare for the changes.
Msgr. Anthony Sherman, director of the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship, said "a great effort" to produce the new missal is under way now "among the publishers of liturgical books, along with the other necessary resources by publishers of liturgical music and catechetical resources."
"Even as that work is under way, a full-scale implementation of catechesis for the new missal should be taking place in the parishes, so that when the time comes, everyone will be ready," he added.
SIC: CNS