Sarah Rozman
Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
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Dear Catholic Exchange:
Our parish has taken the word 'men' out of the Creed, so that it now reads “for us and for our salvation” as the word 'men' offends some in the parish. Is this allowed? The parish priest has said it must happen, and backs it up with a document from the bishop's council on inclusive language. Any argument against it is countered with “well, this is now we do it here at our parish.” Which is fine, but I am not sure that even a priest can change the words in the Mass. Could you please clarify this issue?
Thanks for your help.
Pax Domini,
Peter O'Halloran
Dear Mr. O’Halloran,
Peace in Christ!
On March 28, 2001, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments promulgated Liturgiam authenticam, the Fifth Instruction for the Right Implementation of the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. This instruction on the use of vernacular languages in the publication of the books of the Roman liturgy provides explicit guidelines about future vernacular translations of the Nicene Creed in the sacred liturgy. The Instruction teaches:
“By means of the Creed (Symbolum) or profession of faith, the whole gathered people of God respond to the word of God proclaimed in the Sacred Scriptures and expounded in the homily, recalling and confessing the great mysteries of the faith by means of a formula approved for liturgical use. The Creed is to be translated according to the precise wording that the tradition of the Latin Church has bestowed upon it, including the use of the first person singular, by which is clearly made manifest that ‘the confession of faith is handed down in the Creed, as it were, as coming from the person of the whole Church, united by means of the Faith.’ In addition, the expression carnis resurrectionem [resurrection of the flesh] is to be translated literally wherever the Apostles’ Creed is prescribed or may be used in the Liturgy” (no. 65, emphasis added).
Additionally, the trend regarding inclusive language seems to be going in the opposite direction. When the new translation to the Missal comes out, we can expect to see changes which are more faithful to the Latin original. If you could provide the specific name of the document from the bishops’ council that your priest is referring to, we would be happy to look it over.
For further discussion, please see our FAITH FACTS We Believe in One God…: The Nicene Creed at Mass and Defending Our Rites — Constructively Dealing with Liturgical Abuse.
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United in the Faith,
