The Catholic Biblical Association of America

John, I hope this translates up OK, we are sending it in 2 forms, let Jamie know whether i

Presentation given by Bishop Tod Brown at the November 2001 USCCB meeting.

LITURGIAM AUTHENTICAM AND

OUR MINISTRY OF CHRISTIAN UNITY AND INTERRELIGIOUS OUTREACH

The Holy Father, in his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint, celebrates our advances with fellow Christians in biblical and liturgical renewal:

Significant progress in ecumenical cooperation has been made in another area, that of the word of God. I am thinking above all of the importance of the different language groups of ecumenical translations of the Bible...The Catholic Church could not fail to welcome these developments. These translations, prepared by experts, generally offer a solid basis for the prayer and pastoral activity of all Christ's followers. Anyone who recalls how heavily debates about Scripture influenced divisions, especially in the West, can appreciate the significant step forward which these common translations represent. Corresponding to the liturgical renewal carried out by the Catholic Church, certain other ecclesial communities have made efforts to renew their worship...Again, when the cycles of liturgical readings used by the various Christian communities in the West are compared, they appear to be essentially the same. Still on the ecumenical level, very special prominence has been given to the liturgy and liturgical signs. (#44-45)

Contributions

Can Liturgiam Authenticam contribute to our deepening of communion among our churches, and the biblical, liturgical and ecumenical renewal among Catholics?

I would suggest it can enable us, as bishops, to help our people celebrate developments that have been made in biblical renewal since Divino Afflante Spiritu and in liturgical renewal following the Council, in the context of our deepening of the real but imperfect communion existing among Christians.

This is a text focusing on concerns of the Latin (Western) Church and its ritual life (LA # 2, 8), within the Church universal. With it, we are called to interpret and deepen the liturgical and biblical renewal in our local contexts in ways that enhance the thirty years of ecumenical collaboration in liturgical renewal and textual translation.

Pastorally, the use of common texts for prayers and the development of similar lectionaries enable us to give expression to the levels of unity achieved. For example, many of our priests participate weekly with ministers of other churches and ecclesial communities in lectionary study and prayer, preparatory to the Sunday celebrations in which they will preach. We want these experiences to continue and expand.

Our dialogues on grace, Eucharist and tradition have been enhanced by common scientific biblical and liturgical scholarship, based on common texts, methods and theological dialogue. Each community, of course, continues to develop its own liturgical texts. These directives can enhance the continued mutual discussion.

Already, the following directive of the Holy See has been most fruitful in the United States and the English speaking world: "Churches and ecclesial communities whose members live within a culturally homogeneous area should draw up together, where possible, a text of the most important prayers. These would be for regular use by all the churches, and ecclesial communities or at least for use when they pray together on ecumenical occasions." (Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism #187)

As bishops responsible for implementing the ecumenical directives, it is important to help our ecumenical officers, liturgists and ecumenical commissions to find ways for these developments to become part of the consciousness of our Catholic faithful. As the Holy Father encourages us in his encyclical on ecumenism, this common work needs to become a "common heritage."

The Second Vatican Council in Dei Verbum set the tone by which all Catholic renewal, biblical and liturgical, moves forward in service of the Gospel and the unity of the Church: "But since the Word of God must be readily available at all times, the Church, with motherly concern, sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into various languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books. If it should happen that, when the opportunity presents itself and the authorities of the Church agree, these translations are made in a joint effort with the separated brethren, they may be used by all Christians." (#22)

In the context of the understanding of revelation, as articulated in the Council, the Holy Father has encouraged the dialogues which have been so fruitful in the last three decades to continue study of "the relationship between sacred Scripture, as the highest authority in matters of faith, and sacred tradition, as indispensable to the interpretation of the word of God." (Ut Unum Sint #79)

There have been many productive years of collaboration. Numerous Western churches and ecclesial communities, for example, have developed their lectionaries in collaboration with Catholic scholars, attempting to achieve a common lectionary among the churches. The Bishops' Committee in the Liturgy has had strong and active membership in the Consultation on Common Texts. It has participated in the development of The International Consultation on English Texts (ICET), The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), and the process and results of these engagements since 1969. The 1992 Revised Common Lectionary, based on the order established in the 1969 Roman Liturgy, is an important contribution to this common liturgical convergence. We would hope that these new directives can reinforce this work. Developments in our experience will need to be taken into account in the interpretation and implementation of this text in ecumenical collaboration.

Challenges

The primary challenge will be to place Liturgiam Authenticam in its proper context, but it presents other challenges as well. Above all, it should not be taken in isolation from magisterial commitments to the unity of the Church and the developments of thirty years of dialogue.

· Challenge One: It is a challenge for catechesis and priestly formation to underscore that this as an appropriate deepening of the distinctive elements of our particular Latin rite and not a move away from the universal commitments of the Catholic Church, East and West (LA #4).

What is our role as bishops, with the responsibility to insure the central ecumenical dimension of the mission of the Church? What is the relationship of this text, for example, with Dei Verbum or Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism?

· Challenge Two: The inculturation of the liturgy in different rites respects the uniqueness of each of them within the Catholic communion. It is a challenge to help our people recognize that this text is directed to the Roman rite and other duly recognized rites within the Latin Church.

Number 41a may appear to stand in tension with the opening paragraph of 41 when it comes to the equally ancient oriental manuscript traditions that may be at variance with the Latin text. We must avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding.

Liturgiam Authenticam is not a text of the universal Church, but a directive for the Roman rite and other duly recognized rites within the Latin Church. Both inter-ritual cooperation among the churches of the Catholic communion, and ecumenical collaborations with other churches and ecclesial communities are encouraged:

With due regard for Catholic traditions and for all of the principles and norms contained in this instruction, an appropriate relationship or coordination is greatly to be desired whenever possible between any translations intended for common use in the various rites of the Catholic Church, especially as regards the text of sacred Scripture. The bishops of the Latin Church are to foster the same in a spirit of respectful and fraternal cooperation.

A similar agreement is desirable also with the particular non-Catholic Eastern churches or with the authorities of the Protestant ecclesial communities, provided that it is not a question of liturgical texts pertaining to doctrinal matters still in dispute and provided also that the churches or ecclesial communities involved have a sufficient number of adherents and that those consulted are truly capable of functioning as representatives of the same ecclesial communities. (LA, #90-91)

· Challenge Three: The use of the Nova Vulgata will mean that our translation will be at variance with those of the Eastern churches, Catholic and Orthodox, which use the original languages or their own proper liturgical languages and with those of our Western ecumenical partners who have translations based on the original languages. How will this variety be coordinated even within the communion of Catholic churches?

Indeed, 41a's statement that translations should be guided by the Nova Vulgata appears to rule out drawing from the insights of the translations of scriptural texts into Greek, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic, etc., and to diminish any reliance on the Eastern patristic tradition. Drawing on the heritage of the Eastern traditions was encouraged in Unitatis Redintegratio (#14): "From their very origins the churches of the East have had a treasury from which the church of the West has amply drawn for its liturgy, spiritual tradition and jurisprudence," and reaffirmed and expanded in Pope John Paul's encyclical Ut Unum Sint # 57-58. No single ancient translation is the exclusive bearer of the biblical message; much is to be gained by consulting these Eastern sources as well. The key concept within 41a is that of reception, and this, as we know from ecumenical experience, requires fruitful dialogue among churches.

· Challenge Four: #29 of Liturgiam Authenticam points to the importance of the homily and catechesis providing the ecumenical and interreligious formation necessary to understand other Christian communities, the Jewish people and other religions in a positive and realistic way, including the right interpretation of Catholic texts and careful selection of appropriate texts. Are we to rely on authentic translations to communicate the appropriate theological meaning of the texts or on homiletic and catechetical mediation to disclose their correct understanding?

This emphasis on formation reinforces directives of the Holy See's Ecumenical Formation of Pastoral Workers (See: #11 & 26g) and the General Directory for Catechetics which notes the responsibility to provide "a suitable knowledge of other confessions, with which there are shared elements of faith: the written word of God, the life of grace, faith, hope and charity, and the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit." (#86b)

Many of the implications of this directive for the homilist and catechist have been spelled out in the Holy See's 1985 Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church, which is to be implemented by the church in this country through the BCL's 1988 God's Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines for the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching. These statements, among others, provide the magisterial detail and context to which Liturgiam Authenticam, understandably, could only allude.

· Challenge Five: Churches and ecclesial communities with their own histories of translation can be an important resource for the Catholic Church. It is a challenge how to interpret this text so that it contributes to this process. How can the Catholic norms for the Latin Church in Liturgiam Authenticam be useful to Catholic liturgists as they continue to deepen common translation projects and interpret Catholic liturgical renewal to our ecumenical partners?

Catechesis and priestly formation will communicate the mutual enrichment we have received in both the biblical translation processes and liturgical text renewal which we have shared, especially with the western churches and ecclesial communities, since the Council.

· Challenge Six: How can the cautions of # 40 of the text, "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," be interpreted in light of # 90, the directives of the Council, the Catholic policy as enunciated in the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism cited above, and our own direction, over the years, as bishops with responsibility in these matters?

Tendencies to see this text in isolation from the total magisterial development at both the universal and local church levels can easily distort the ecumenical, biblical and liturgical program of the Church, and the fruitful renewal that has already been experienced and reinforced by the celebrations of the Great Jubilee.

Classical Latin collects have existed in English translation since the sixteenth century Book of Common Prayer. The missal of Paul VI includes eucharistic prayers developed by scholarship, often ecumenical, from Eastern and pre-Reformation Latin texts. Catechesis and priestly formation will need to take into account: those elements Christians hold in common, points of disagreement, and the results of the ecumenical dialogues. (See: Ecumenical Formation of Pastoral Workers #16-19) This is particularly important in sacramental preparation and in communicating the liturgical convergences and hopes for full communion.

This emphasis on interpretation in our formation processes is spelled out in more detail: "ecumenical dialogue, which prompts the parties involved to question each other, to understand each other and to explain their positions to each other, can help to determine whether different theological formations are complementary rather than contradictory and so develop mutually acceptable and transparent expressions of faith. In this way a common ecumenical language is emerging." (Ecumenical Formation #11) This principle is as important in translation work as in catechesis.

· Challenge Seven: What are the implications of #29 for Catholic-Jewish relations? It mandates using the principles of Nostra Aetate by calling for precision in conveying the Catholic Church's understanding of Jews and Judaism. "In choosing translations of a certain expression" in the liturgy with regard to Jews and Judaism, attention should be given to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent magisterium on these matters.

The 1974 Guidelines for Implementing the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, no. 4 are specific to this issue:

Commissions entrusted with the task of liturgical translation will pay particular attention to those phrases and passages which Christians, if not well informed, might misunderstand because of prejudice. Obviously, one cannot alter the text of the Bible. The point is that, with a version intended for liturgical use, there should be an overriding preoccupation to bring out explicitly the meaning of a text, while taking scriptural studies into account.

At times, there may be situations where the principles of #29 may need to be reconciled between reliance on a literal translation for accuracy or a more flexible equivalent in order to bring out the precise meaning of the evangelist. The translation of hoi 'Ioudaioi is one example. The 1974 Guidelines, in a note to this paragraph, affirm the need for applying this "overriding preoccupation" specifically with regard to "the formula, 'the Jews'," to utilize in translations "terms which better express the thought of the evangelist and avoid appearing to arraign the Jewish people as such" (see also the Holy See's 1985 Notes on the Correct Way to Present Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis, III). Thus, in 1990, the BCL formulated the principle that "the expression 'the Jews' in the Fourth Gospel is translated as 'the Jewish authorities' or 'the Jewish religious leaders' or 'the Jewish leaders' or the 'Jewish people,' etc." In the USCCB, the Bishops' Committees on the Liturgy and on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs have collaborated and will continue to see that translations and new liturgical texts follow the guidelines of the Holy See relative to the treatment of Jews and Judaism.

We as bishops have the mission to see that the appropriate educational programs are in place to insure that our people have the benefit of these developments in liturgical renewal relative to our understanding of Judaism and the living Jewish community in our midst. The two USCCB Committees worked together, for example, in developing the 1988 BCL statement, God's Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching. This mode of collaboration between our educational, ecumenical and liturgical officers in our dioceses recommends itself to each of us as local ordinaries.

#41c requires that "a word equivalent in meaning" to the Latin Dominus be used to render the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (YHWH). This preserves the traditional Jewish respect for the divine name, which never tries to pronounce the Tetragrammaton but reads instead Adonai (LORD). The BCL anticipated this in 1990: "the classic translation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) as 'LORD' and the translation of Kyrios as 'Lord' should be used in lectionaries" (BCL Newsletter, vol. 26, Oct/Nov 1990, IV, 27).

Conclusion

In all of our liturgical and biblical renewal, the common faith we share with fellow Christians and the progress that has been made with churches and ecclesial communities in dialogue over sacramental, biblical and authority issues must remain before our people.

An ecumenical spirituality is emerging with common study of and reflection on the Bible, common translation of scripture, common liturgical texts and hymn books; shared prayer events, and ecumenical cooperation in catechesis. Promotion of spiritual ecumenism requires specialized study among our pastoral workers. (See: Ecumenical Formation of Pastoral Workers #26f)

As the Holy Father says, "One of the first steps in ecumenical dialogue is the effort to draw the Christian communities into this completely interior spiritual space in which Christ, by the power of the Spirit, leads them all, without exception, to examine themselves before the Father and to ask themselves whether they have been faithful to his plan for the church." (Ut Unum Sint #82) Our challenge, as bishops, is to help Liturgiam Authenticam serve the deepening of our spiritual life in the Latin liturgy and our growing awareness of communion with fellow Christians.