Two Different Documents
on Liturgical Translation (Part 2)

II. The Instruction Liturgiam authenticam

It was practically two decades later that Blessed John Paul II, in his 1988 Apostolic Letter Vicesimus quintus annus, which he issued to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sacrosanctum concilium, remarked that the quality of the vernacular editions of the liturgical books was not satisfactory. We just heard Pope Benedict sum it up last year in the word "banality." This was a perception shared in the 1980s by not a few Bishops. Within little more than a decade, for example, after the publication of the first complete English-language translation of the Missal by the Mixed Commission, the Commission, known as ICEL, itself took the lead in launching a program of retranslation.

In 1988, Pope John Paul II called, among other things, for the Bishops’ Conferences to live up to their responsibilities for the liturgical translations, replacing provisional translations, completing the range of books, correcting infelicities and errors, ensuring wide cooperation, all with the aim of arriving at stable liturgical books of a dignity commensurate with the mysteries of the faith which they serve to celebrate!

On 25 January 1994, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued the Instruction Varietates legitimæ, a document which sets out to comment on nos. 37-40 of Sacrosanctum concilium, and thus to discuss and give guidance to the complex operation of the inculturation of the Roman Liturgy. It is a rich and subtle document, worthy of study. I mention it here simply because it in effect rejected the claim that when the new vernacular translations of the liturgical books deviated from saying what was said in the Latin, this was legitimate, for "cultural reasons." Now Varietates legitimæ treated liturgical inculturation in a sympathetic and clearheaded way, which by implication brought translators back to the sophisticated work of accurate, intelligible translation rather than liturgical engineering.

It was noticeable, and some did notice it, that the Instruction Varietates legitimæ makes no mention of Comme le prévoit.

Varietates legitimæ also did a good job of pointing out the connections inherent in the liturgical texts between the words, deeds and intentions of the Savior (no. 25), the biblical substratum of the liturgy (no. 23), and the basic principles found also in the great liturgical families of the East from the time of the Apostles (no 26).

Apart from offering a variety of considerations around what is laid down in Sacrosanctum concilium, the Instruction Varietates legitimæ also speaks in a historical perspective about the process of inculturation as it relates to the application of linguistic expression, to the transition from one language to another in liturgical celebration, and to the relation between biblical texts and concepts and derivative ecclesiastical usage.

When it discusses the use of the vernacular in the liturgy, the Instruction is principally concerned with defining the type of language to be used. Here it does not deflect from the requirements we have so often seen above. This language "manifestet semper oportet, una cum fidei veritate, maiestatem ac sanctitatem mysteriorum, quae celebrantur" (no. 39). It adds a reference to the need to be wary of undesirable connotations of language in other, especially pagan religions, and to the appropriateness of respecting the nature of the different literary genres (no. 39). In no. 40 the question of music and singing is raised, whereby cautions are added about the words and their quality both liturgical and literary. Finally, in no. 50 the question is raised of areas where the language situation is fragmented. Every effort should be made to strike a balance and so avoid excessive liturgical fragmentation around languages and take account of the fact that a country may be moving towards use of one single main language.

In 1997 Blessed John Paul II followed up his own Vicesimus quintus annus and the Varietates legitimæ of the Congregation for Divine Worship, by asking the latter to begin drafting new translation norms for the major languages, but also for a few hundred other languages which have been approved for introduction into full liturgical use. This decision, as we have seen, was not the opinion of a single moment, but had matured in the Church and in the thinking of the late Pope over a period of time.

The Congregation had no more leisure available to it in 1997 than the Consilium had in 1967 as it was working on a much delayed new edition of the Latin text of the Roman Missal. Yet that made the moment all the more crucial, and so it became imperative to complete new guidelines on translation to accompany in some sense the new Latin Missal and to orientate the new translations that would have to follow.

In due time the new set of norms was completed and was approved by John Paul II in 2001, as the Instruction Liturgiam authenticam. This set out new rules for organizing and carrying out liturgical translations into the vernacular. I would like to read to you one essential paragraph that will help us grasp the thrust of the whole document:

The Latin liturgical texts of the Roman Rite, while drawing on centuries of ecclesial experience in transmitting the faith of the Church received from the Fathers, are themselves the fruit of the liturgical renewal, just recently brought forth. In order that such a rich patrimony may be preserved and passed on through the centuries, it is to be kept in mind from the beginning that the translation of the liturgical texts of the Roman Liturgy is not so much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language. While it is permissible to arrange the wording, the syntax and the style in such a way as to prepare a flowing vernacular text suitable to the rhythm of popular prayer, the original text, insofar as possible, must be translated integrally and in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of its content, and without paraphrases or glosses. Any adaptation to the characteristics or the nature of the various vernacular languages is to be sober and discreet.

There are a number of notes being sounded here and we can paraphrase some of them as follows:

1. Our patrimony of faith, in the expression that is specific to the Roman Rite down the centuries, is to be carefully kept even in translation
2. Translation is not a superficial business of reinventing the wheel, of making the Church say what some translator wants her to say, but the carrying across of a well-honed, well-defined and vital content, guaranteed by high authority, into the language we speak today
3. If we take English as the example, it is clear that the English has to be good English, but not at the cost of diminishing or distorting the precious original content

I think I have made it clear what kind of translations of liturgical texts we need. Let us just say charitably that we haven’t always had them. Vague, imprecise, ideological and at times quirky translations that astonishingly moved away from biblical language have for almost two generations hindered effective catechesis in some important languages areas. Beautiful and ancient prayers that are a synthesis of the spiritual doctrine and teaching of the Fathers of the Church, with deep biblical roots, were lost to view, and this in the middle of an unprecedented religious crisis. How very sad.

I have been surprised to find that there is so little academic examination of Liturgiam authenticam. My surprise is linked in part to the fact that Liturgiam authenticam does much more than giving detailed instructions on how to translate. It seeks to persuade and explain theologically the minds of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict on the liturgy.

Liturgiam authenticam picked up on the Pope’s remark in Vicesimus quintus annus, that a satisfactory situation had not yet been reached in the matter of the quality of the vernacular translations of the liturgical books. In tackling this problem, the Instruction mentions repeatedly that the time for a new era for liturgical translations has come, so that through their means an authentic liturgical renewal may come about, should now begin.

Liturgiam authenticam also makes a strong series of references to Varietates legitimæ. It in some sense imitates Varietates legitimæ by taking the form of an extended technical comment on no. 36 of Sacrosanctum concilium, and thus providing a set of guidelines on translation, just as Varietates legitimæ set out to comment the Constitutions nos. 37-40, and give guidelines on inculturation in relation to the liturgy.

The new document discussed five distinct questions:

1. the choice of modern languages for admission into the liturgy
2. the criteria for the preparation of translations of liturgical texts
3. procedures to be observed in such preparation and the bodies to be entrusted with the tasks
4. issues regarding the publication of the liturgical books
5. procedures for the translation of the liturgical Propers of dioceses and religious families

One strong emphasis spells out the need for the Bishops to take effective charge of preparing and approving liturgical translations, in harmony with neighbouring Bishops’ Conferences or with those using the same language, and in harmony with the Holy See. Such an appropriate legal framework and procedures are, of course, required by Catholic ecclesiology.

The necessity of careful pastoral planning and the development of a strategy for the use of languages in the Liturgy over a given territory are also emphasised. Once again this is a task primarily for the bishops.

The document distinguishes between the already difficult task of translation and the notion of "adaptation." In fact, while it is undoubtedly true that the living use of any language and certainly the passage from one language to another, imply a certain degree of "adaptation," the translator cannot distort or develop the text in an arbitrary or ideological way. Liturgiam authenticam acknowledges (no. 20) that the liturgical books have already been revised at least once since the Council and that if need arises it will be done again, but that the translator is not the person to do this, nor should it be done surreptitiously. In so acting, the translator would usurp the primary role of the bishops and the prerogatives of the Holy See.

To facilitate its implementation, the document mentions the possibility of drafting (in agreement with the Holy See) a ratio translationis, a set of application guidelines and perhaps a specialized dictionary or specialized wordlists that spell out equivalents for key Latin terms, based especially on Bible translation work that has proved successful. As someone who has worked on material of this kind for long hours, I can report that it is not an easy option, but the end result is enlightening and an immense help in maintaining doctrinal and liturgical integrity. In some Western languages this material is in part already available. In other languages it is not and needs to be created.

Liturgiam authenticam is a rich and important document. It is a game changer. Its first fruit is the new English translation of the Roman Missal; a wonderful achievement.

Of this whole operation of reworking our liturgical translations, Blessed John Paul II, who set it in motion, said:

I urge the bishops and the Congregation to make every effort to ensure that liturgical translations are faithful to the original of the respective typical editions in the Latin language. A translation, in fact, is not an exercise in creativity, but a meticulous task of preserving the meaning of the original without changes, omissions or additions. The failure to observe this criterion on occasion makes the work of revising some texts necessary and urgent.

The instruction acknowledged that the text must be accessible to the listener, but must not be dumbed down. The theological and linguistic richness of the original texts must be uncovered and retained. Not just concepts, but words and expression are to be translated faithfully to respect the wealth contained in the original text. Some may find such exactness a bit discomforting, but it is a price worth paying to preserve the purity of the liturgical and theological traditions embodied in the rites.

Liturgiam authenticam has ambitions which go beyond translation itself because it "envisions and seeks to prepare for a new era of liturgical renewal, which is consonant with the qualities and the traditions of the particular Churches, but which safeguards also the faith and the unity of the whole Church of God." As Blessed John Paul II put it, quoting the Lord (Lk 5: 4), "Duc in altum!" A truly great enterprise.

Along with Bishops throughout the English-speaking world, I have been heavily involved in the development of the new English translation of the Missal, following the norms set out by Liturgiam authenticam. In general terms, it has been a great pastoral success and is already part of the church landscape. As to criticisms, I make my own a remark I heard some while ago from a fellow Bishop, namely that if ever in the history of the Church there was a collegial decision affecting a single major language group, this is it. The text was prepared and then improved by virtually all the Bishops sharing our common English-language, and combed through line by line, word by word, in two high-level international committees of Bishops and experts meeting assiduously over the best part of a decade. It was endorsed by every bishops’ conference using the English language in secret votes requiring a two thirds majority.

As we are here in commemoration of the promulgation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum concilium, on 3 December 1963. I should like to conclude with the help of Pope Benedict, quoting another passage of those ex tempore comments he made to the clergy of Rome at more or less this time last year. Talking of the unfolding of the Council, Pope Benedict said:

I find now, looking back, that it was a very good idea to begin with the liturgy, because in this way the primacy of God could appear, the primacy of adoration. "Operi Dei nihil præponatur": this phrase from the Rule of Saint Benedict (cf. 43:3) thus emerges as the supreme rule of the Council. Some have made the criticism that the Council spoke of many things, but not of God. It did speak of God! And this was the first thing that it did, that substantial speaking of God and opening up all the people, the whole of God’s holy people, to the adoration of God, in the common celebration of the liturgy of the Body and Blood of Christ. In this sense, over and above the practical factors that advised against beginning straight away with controversial topics, it was, let us say, truly an act of Providence that at the beginning of the Council was the liturgy, God, adoration.

We have now entered the Franciscan years, a time of great hope with the first Jesuit pope, the first South American and the first pope to take the name Francis.

Just as Francis of Assisi still captures the imagination of many outside as well as inside the church, so too Pope Francis has changed the Church’s public image throughout most of the world ensuring a new openness for Christ’s kerygma.

Blessed John Paul II and especially Pope Benedict struggled for years to purify the Catholic liturgical traditions especially in the Roman rite. They realised that the vitality of Catholic life is always linked to the prayerfulness, faith and cohesion of the worshipping communities.

Proper translations are an essential part of the liturgical renewal and the liturgical renewal of Vatican Two, Blessed John Paul and Benedict XVI provides an equally necessary foundation for the missionary work of Pope Francis.

This liturgical and doctrinal tradition will continue to flourish and bear fruit amid the structural changes in the Holy See and the pastoral initiatives which are likely to characterize Pope Francis’ pontificate.

This paper was prepared 04 February 2014