With Motu Proprio, Discussions on Translation to Be More Local
With Motu Proprio, Discussions on Translation to Be More Local Paul Turner With his motu proprio Magnum principium, Pope Francis has changed the future direction of vernacular translations for the Roman Catholic liturgy. During the past fifteen years, since the promulgation of Liturgiam authenticam, the Vatican held the center of gravity for approvals. Now the Holy Father has restored the vision of the Second Vatican Council, which placed the authority for translations of Latin texts into the hands of confer- ences of bishops. The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is composed of eleven episcopal conferences (Australia, Canada, England, Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States). by Robert Creed Photo Throughout more than fifty years of work, ICEL has proposed With Magnum principium, controversies on translations of ritual books should translations for approval by the conferences and by the Vatican. stay local. The commission staffs a secretariat in Washington, DC, which in turn contracts with specialists to work on the translations. changed. Pope Francis expects that, by and large, the Vatican These translations pass the review of an editorial committee, will approve the translation that the conferences submit. consultants, and staff. They then go to the eleven bishops who The motu proprio does not change the principles of trans- constitute the commission itself. When these bishops vote on a lation. However, it gives conferences a freer hand in adjustments, word, a phrase, or on the entire order of service, the vote of the which could lead to variances from the principles that ICEL has bishop from Pakistan carries as much weight as the vote of the lately observed.
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