USCCB Conference Opens

Evening Update: On a 173-29 vote, the new translation was approved!

The USCCB meeting has opened today and the United States Bishops Conference will be voting on a very important changes in the Mass. These changes will alter some of the prayers in Mass so that the English translation is more accurately translated from Latin. The bishop conferences in Australia, England and Wales have already approved of the changes. However, it must also be remembered that the very nature of the Mass remains the same - it is the Novus Ordo and not the Immemorial Mass.

As someone that loves Latin in the Mass, I wholeheartedly welcome any changes that will make the English closer to the original phrasing but anything less than a full resurrection of the True Mass is unacceptable. The changes would need to be approved by 2/3 of the 254 American bishops. These changes would effect 12 of the 19 texts from Mass including the Gloria, Nicene Creed, Sanctus, and Penitential Rite.

Some of the changes include substituting "through my own fault" from the Penitential Rite to "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grevious fault". "Peace be with you" / "And also with you" will be changed to "Peace be with you" / "And with your Spirit". I feel that is the most important change because it is quite clear that the Latin exchange included the word "spirit".

Other changes include switching "We believe" to "I believe" in the Nicene Creed since the original Latin begins with "Credo" - literally "I believe." Also, "one in being with the Father" would change to "consubstantial with the Father" (this change did not pass since the USCCB thinks that the laity are too uneducated to know the meaning of the world). And, "He was born of the Virgin Mary" would become "by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary."

Photo Source: AP Photo/Nick Ut