New USA "feminist" lectionary.

The Canadian Bishops' Liturgy Office gave Canadian Catholics a feminized (so called "inclusive language") Lectionary for Mass in 1992. It did so only after omitting the necessary approval from the Vatican, which was later denied.

Ever since then, the equivalent people in the U.S., likewise majority feminized, have been striving to produce a "moderately" feminist lectionary that would please the Vatican and most of the bishops. Presumably, the more avantgarde "progressive" pastors in the States have meanwhile been buying the Canadian book, if not some radical Protestant version in the U.S. Today it seems that the American Catholic lectionary, is ready (or almost ready) to be printed. However, the American bishops in their latest, June 19-21, 1997, meeting continued to be divided. Progressive bishops such as Trautman (Erie, PA) and Skbla (auxiliary in Milwaukee) spoke against adoption of this translation because, in their opinion, it is not feminist enough. But Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore urged adoption. The absent bishops will have to be polled by mail to see if the new version receives the necessary two-third majority. The story is found in National Catholic Reporter, Catholic World Report, and Adoremus Bulletin, (all June 1997).

Most Catholics are not moved by this tedious discussion. But why this long delay of five to six years? The Vatican has repeatedly said no, even to "horizontal" femspeak, that is, when the text speaks of man, not of God. (God-speak remains traditional.) We read and hear that "He who" may be rendered "whoever" (so as to avoid the supposedly offensive "He"). An examination of six passages where the Vatican is implied to have approved deletion of a masculine word (man, men or him), shows, astonishingly, that the Catholic Vulgate Latin Bible (rigorously faithful mirror of the original Greek) has no masculine word in the passage. In other words, the translators should simply have been more faithful in the first instance.

The Bible in question is the much revised New American Bible (Catholic) first published in 1971 (hardly "new" 25 years later!). Unfortunately, this Bible arose in an era of violent paraphrasing and wild secular optimism and should now be forgotten. It should be replaced by either the old Revised Standard Version (RSV) [Catholic edition], or the Douai-Rheims version amended to mirror the official Latin Neo-Vulgate Bible. Both are faithful translations, the latter more so, and more Catholic. Fortunately, RSV lectionaries have been and will again be available. There is hope for the faith, and for biblical peace. (See also article page 26)

S.S.