Bishop Trautman Meets His Liturgical Waterloo

(picture souce via Fr. Z: In homage )

I love this opening line from an article about the USCCB vote on the new Mass translation: "Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie lost his 10-year battle to prevent the Catholic bishops from approving a new Mass translation that he believes is awkward and ungrammatical." (Bishops advance new Mass translations despite reservations by some) AWWWW!!!!! No my heart wasn't broken at his defeat, it was elated.

But what got me was the newfound concern of his for the letter of the Vatican II documents. "Bishop Trautman, who has headed the bishops' liturgy committee in the past and is a strong supporter of gender-neutral translations, tried to stop the vote on the new liturgical texts by arguing that handing the translation of antiphons for the Psalms to the Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican was in violation of Church laws.

In front of his colleagues, gathered in Baltimore for the Fall USCCB general assembly, the Bishop of Erie argued that "no matter how well intended," a Vatican dicastery "cannot trump the magisterial authority of the constitution of an ecumenical council.

Bishop Trautman was referring to the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium," which establishes that, in general, translations must be approved by the bishops of the territories where they will be used." (Effort to stop new liturgical translations at USCCB meeting fails"

So what does the document actually say?

"A) General norms
22. 1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the bishop.
2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established.

36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.

4. Translations from the Latin text into the mother tongue intended for use in the liturgy must be approved by the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned above. "

While technically he may be right about the final approval of a translation, he is wrong about who does the translations. & he knows it. In fact, it sounds to me like this is more of a last ditch effort on his part to derail a more accurate translation because it isn't gender neutral. & there in he shows his hypocracy about being concerned about the rules. He is totally ignoring the fact that Liturgiam authenticam (Authentic Liturgy) is the law recognized by this very constitution he claims to be trying uphold. In fact he has done all he can to attack & undermine it in the past.

In fact here is what he said about that document: “The Authentic Liturgy is truly an embarrassment. What can be done? The church has in its possession a blemished but authoritative document released by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments and approved by the Holy Father. It is not realistic to expect that it will be rescinded.” Bishop Donald Trautman, America magazine, October 22, 2001

Get what I am saying. He will rebel against lawful authority when it undermines his agenda to destroy the Church, but he will pretend to uphold it, while twisting it, when it suits his purposes.

I think Cardinal George got it right in his reaction to Bishop Trautman's actions. "I feel as if we're doing guerilla warfare here." That is exactly what Trautman is attempting to do.

Fortunately, he failed. Thank God. & sometime in 2010 the new translation will finally be approved & probably go into effect Advent 2010 at the earliest. While it won't cure all the problems, it will be a step in the right direction. & Bishop Trautman might be more concerned about doing what he should & teaching authentic doctrine so people will understand what is said rather that continuing to promote his feminist agenda that is heterodox at best & probably drifting off into heresy at worst.

Again, it won't solve all the problems. You will still have some of those 60s leftovers who will continue to do their own thing. They will continue to rewrite the liturgy & they will use inclusive language rewrites of Scripture. But they will be more & more apparant as the dying breed they are. Esp as most of the newly ordained priests will be trained in the improved translation. & many of them are leaning towards a return to Latin as well.

We are seeing the beginning of the end for Trautman's gang. (& that includes Mahony who is 1 of his BFFs.) With this new translation & a greater access of the TLM (something else Trautman has tried to undermine, Trautman: Not In My Diocese ) this past week's vote is definitely their Waterloo. They can retire to Elba any time they want now.

______________

I have to add 1 more comment about Trautman's claim about who should do the translation. If you follow it to the logical conclusion, than the ICEL has no authority either & thus the original translation was wrong as well. I also have to ask where is his concern about the part that refers to the use of Latin. Like I said, pick & chose to twist for his own purposes.