1 Billion Catholics to See New Mass Translation

A new translation of the Mass that becomes mandatory November 27 is aimed at unifying the more than 1 billion Catholics with a service that is as close to the original Latin one as possible. Experts are calling the changes the biggest to the Mass since the 1960s when the Second Vatican Council modernized the church,  The Washington Post reports.

The new translation changes virtually all the dialogue in the Mass, including the prayers and the call-and-response between priests and parishioners, that those under 40 have used all their lives.

“At first I thought it was an affront, the Vatican coming down on us. But after thinking about it, I see it as something that will bring us all back toward the center,” Emily Strand, 35, a former campus minister at the University of Dayton, told the Post. “Vatican II was an excuse for people to do whatever they wanted with the liturgy.”

Changes include reverting to such words as chalice instead of cup. Bishop Donald Trautman, of Erie, Pa., told the Post, “We have to keep in mind these are prayer texts being used by priests at a Mass. People should be able to understand them when they are heard.”

Pope John Paul II called for the changes more than a decade ago. The changes pose practical as well as spiritual problems. Millions of Missals, the book containing the texts necessary for celebrating the Mass, must be replaced and the old ones disposed of properly.

The new books must be purchased by each parish and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recommends that the old versions should be buried on church grounds or in a cemetery, the Post reported.