Fr Michael Commane said that even though it is now is use for over five months, he still has, “major difficulty using it,” and that the languages makes it impenetrable to many worshippers.
He said, for example, the opening prayer is no longer called that, it is now called the Collect and asked, “Why change from 'Opening Prayer' to 'Collect’ - which word is more easily understood?”
“Many of these 'Collects' contain sentences with up to 60 words,” he pointed out, adding that it is “well-nigh impossible to spot the main verb or make sense of it. And if one has not read it at least twice before reading it at Mass he is sure to get lost in the middle of the sentence or more likely, run out of breath.”
Stressing that he is not discussing, “anything to do with the theological aspect of the missal,” but rather the verbiage, he went on to cite the change of the word ‘offering' to 'oblation' in the Eucharistic Prayer and the fact that the old missal, “spoke about being in God's presence” while the new one talks about being in, “God's face.”
And in a reference to the recent censure of a number of outspoken Irish priests, Fr Commane said that he could not help thinking that “the same secret people, who have silenced Irish priests are at least cousins of the people who have produced this book”, which he calls, “a substandard work.”
Fr Commane said that he has been celebrating Mass since the 1970s when he was ordained and made it his business, “to celebrate Mass in a devout and prayerful manner.”
I think it's fair to say I have a strong voice and have no trouble reading - actually, I'd go as far as saying I'm quite a good reader,” he said.
He said it is noteworthy also that in the introduction to the missal ‘priest’' is spelt with an upper case 'P' but 'people' is spelled with a lower case one.
“The 'ruling elite' in Holy Mother Church have decided that they and their ministers always deserve upper case letters whereas it is fine and dandy to treat the hoi polloi with lower case,” he remarked.
Fr Commane likened the language in the new Missal to the use of Latin in a graduation ceremony he recently attended in Trinity College.
“We were told it was an old tradition but it was difficult not to think that holding a ceremony in a language the vast majority of people in attendance did not understand is a fine trick to let the world know that there is an elite class and there is a class that does not belong to the elite.”
“What at all has happened to the idea of the 'People of God'?” he asked.