Because the Roman Catholic Church
was a driving force behind the development of a common English
translation of basic prayers used by many Christian churches for 40
years, more recent Vatican rules for translating Mass prayers "came as a
bombshell," said an Anglican liturgist.
"I do not contest for a moment the prerogative of churches to change
their liturgical texts," said the Rev. David Holeton, a professor at
Charles University in Prague.
But he said other Christians were "both stunned and dismayed" when the
Vatican abandoned the English texts of prayers Catholics had developed
with them since the Second Vatican Council and when the Vatican
discouraged Catholics from consulting ecumenically on the new
translations.
The Anglican liturgist spoke May 5 at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of Rome's Pontifical Liturgical Institute.
He quoted "Liturgiam Authenticam" ("The Authentic Liturgy"), the Vatican
document on liturgical translations, which said: "Great caution is to
be taken to avoid a wording or style that the Catholic faithful would
confuse with the manner of speech of non-Catholic ecclesial communities
or of other religions, so that such a factor will not cause them
confusion or discomfort."
Rev. Holeton asked if "slavish conformity" to the Vatican document on
translations was a greater priority for the Catholic Church than its
commitment to promoting Christian unity.
The use of common texts in English by dozens of Christian denominations
around the world, as well as the way many of them reformed their
liturgies, were inspired by the Catholic Church and the Second Vatican
Council, he said.
"Liturgical reform and renewal have played a priceless role in paving the road toward Christian unity," he said.
When English-speaking Christians have visited each other's churches,
even if the liturgies weren't exactly the same, there was "a sense of
familiarity" and a feeling that "they were not with strangers but among
friends," Rev. Holeton said.
"Both the sense of being 'at home' and of
being 'among friends' are foundational paving stones on the way to
Christian unity and it is the liturgy, more than anything else, that has
nurtured this sense of communality."
Concern over the abandonment of common texts "is a very raw point at the
moment and has created an atmosphere of ecumenical mistrust," he said.
"We have seen the fruit that has been borne since the (Second Vatican)
council, and we hope that the tree that bore it has just been badly
pruned and not hewn down," Rev. Holeton said.