Priest says Vatican rules may be too strict

A decision by the Vatican to issue strict guidelines for the use of language in the Mass and other liturgical celebrations has been described by a Dublin priest as "a crackdown on policies in place since Vatican II for English translations of official liturgical texts".

Father Gerard Moloney, editor of Reality, the Redemptorist publication, said that while clear guidelines for the translation of such texts was essential "so too is a little flexibility".

He was responding to the document Liturgium Authenticam, published in May by the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship. It will mean "sweeping changes" to the way the Mass and other liturgies are celebrated, Father Moloney said.

Liturgiam Authenticam insists on the strict, literal translation of the Latin into English. Translators, it said, "have no authority to adapt or freely translate text". Approval must be sought from the Vatican at every stage in the translating and editing process.

"Literal translations of the Latin do not work in every instance. They do not allow for the nuances of the English language," Father Moloney said.

He gave the example of "lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord" which, if literally translated, would become "hearts upward. We have to the Lord." The document reaffirmed the ban on inclusive language in texts and said gender-based references such as "brothers" and "men" must be retained.

"The abandonment of these terms under pressure of criticism on ideological or other grounds is not always wise or necessary nor is it an inevitable mark of linguistic development," it said.

"Such explanations are hardly likely to reduce many women's feelings of alienation, especially when they can see no good reason for the ban on gender-inclusive language in the first place," Father Moloney said.

"Critics say that the new rules are so strict that classic texts such as the Jerusalem Bible translation, which is familiar to Mass-goers in English-speaking countries, may have to be scrapped," he said.