(from the February 2009 Newsletter – © 2009 USCCB)
The Committee on Divine Worship, at its November 2008 meeting, indicated that the USCCB would complete its review and approval of the texts of the third edition of the Roman Missal by the end of 2010, and noted that once the recognitio was issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, publishers would need as much as one year to prepare, publish, and distribute the Roman Missal for use in parishes. On December 15, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., USCCB President, received a letter from Antonio Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation, in which he expressed a desire to facilitate a more expeditious completion of the approval process for the English translation of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, and see the publication of the Roman Missal in English by the end of 2010.
In particular, Cardinal Cañizares recognized the valuable work of consultation and input from the various Conferences of Bishops, but noted that at least one Conference has completed its process of approval and has submitted its request for recognitio. He suggested that to expedite the approval of the remaining sections of the Missal, Conferences could place a lesser priority on the "Gray Books" for the Introductory Material, the Appendices, and the Antiphons prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), given that, for the most part, they are rather technical in nature. Cardinal Cañizares suggested that priority be given to voting on other remaining sections and submitting them to the Congregation by November 30, 2009.
Cardinal George, in consultation with Bishop Arthur Serratelli and the members of the Committee on Divine Worship, sent an affirmative reply to Cardinal Cañizares' request, noting that the USCCB desired to maintain the U.S. Adaptations to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (which is contained in the Introductory Material). He noted that would take publishers one year from the reception of the recognitio to produce the liturgical book of the Roman Missal.
As originally planned, the Bishops of the United States are expected to consider four Gray Books at their plenary meeting in June 2009: Ordo Missae II, Ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs and Intentions, and Votive Masses and Masses for the Dead. This will leave for the November 2009 meeting consideration of the final two Gray Books: the Proper of Saints and the Common of Saints. At that meeting they will also review the Propers for the Dioceses of the United States of America.
The process of preparation, consultation, review, and approval of the text of the Roman Missal over the past five years has involved not only the Holy See, but, as prescribed by Liturgiam authenticam, bishops and scholars at ICEL, the USCCB, and the other member conferences of ICEL as well.
In conjunction with the USCCB Task Force for Faith Formation and Sacramental Practice, the Committee on Divine Worship is working to develop a framework, timeline, and materials for the important catechetical formation to prepare priests and the faithful for the implementation of the revised translation of the Roman Missal. In addition, both the "Leeds Group" and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions are continuing their work of developing resources for catechesis as well. It is hoped that the process of remote catechesis will begin at the end of 2009. Proximate (i.e., immediate) formation will commence once the recognitio is granted by the Congregation, so that clergy and the faithful will be prepared when the text of the Missal is ready for use.
In the February 2008 Newsletter, the Secretariat of Divine Worship presented a timetable illustrating the current process of translating and approving the third edition of the Roman Missal. After a year of many developments, it is now necessary to provide our readers with an updated timetable, reflecting the progress that has been made. Since last year's timetable, the Holy See has confirmed the Order of Mass I, and the USCCB has approved the Gray Book of the Proper of Seasons.
