This is me, Eccles

This is me, Eccles
This is me, Eccles

Saturday 9 September 2017

The Pope's Magnum Principium

The Pope has published an apostolic letter (or Motu Proprio for those of a rigid disposition) entitled Magnum Principium. The term means "great principle", so after four years of this remarkable papacy, it has finally been revealed what the Pope's Great Principle is.

Is it: Faith? Hope? Charity? Humility? Mercy? Jesuit fudging? True doctrine (stop sniggering at the back)?

Nothing like Pope Francis, but would probably do just as good a job.

No, it's "I can't be bothered to run the Church myself, and so the Bishops' Conferences - which are already deciding on their own interpretations of Amoris Laetitia - will now be able to have their own Mass translations." Well, we say "translations", but "free variations on a theme in accordance with 'some principles handed on since the time of Vatican II' (???)" is nearer the point.

Over to Father James Martin SJ, the Pope's special adviser on doctrine, and a man with lots of original ideas.

"I'm going for a special Jesuit translation, which will omit the General Confession entirely, since we don't recognise any sins these days. Well, except voting for Trump, ignoring climate change, or refusing to laugh at Steve Colbert's tasteful jokes."

One of Steve Colbert's tasteful jokes.

"Then the Creed will become a free for all, in which the congregation will be encouraged to join when they feel like it, and remain silent over the bits they disagree with (this may be all of it!) We shall also have a few minutes at the end of the Creed for worshippers to add their own new ideas - for example about the Holy Spirit being female, and Mary Magdalene the first pope."

"But the highlight will be the sign of peace, when the Priest - this is too imortant for a Deacon - will invite people to participate with the words 'GIVE US A KISS'. The men in the congregation (for doctrinal reasons women are not welcome here) will be asked to come up and embrace the priest."

Practising for the Sign of Peace.

Others have their own ideas for rewriting the Mass. Many experts in Latin have pointed out that the correct translation of "Et cum spiritu tuo" is NOT "And with your spirit", but "And also with you". Or, more correctly, "Cheers, mate!" So this is likely to change.

And just because two countries speak the same language, that is no reason for them to say the same words. American Catholics (the few who attend Mass) will probably go for the LGBTSJ translation above, while English Catholics (we can't call them Anglo Catholics, unfortunately) will have a form of words known as "Vin-acular" based on the Liverpudlian traditions of Cardinal Nichols. Finally, Australian masses will include an interval for "tinnies", and the final part will be based on the traditional Latin prayer "Saltatio Vindobonensis Cum Matilda" or "Waltzing Matilda".

We live in interesting times, my friends.

"This should last a lifetime, Arthur. Or until some fool changes it again."

15 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see some of the 'translations' of the Consecration of the 'Mass'. When they were kicking this idea around about a year ago in Rome, I read some very 'kinky' Eucharistic Prayers by a few top notch Jesuits that they were 'sketching out' that read more like Pagan Earth Worship than anything else. And the 'fun' is just beginning???

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    1. I have had a chocolate Magnum and a magnum of champagne but never a Magnum Principium. I would imagine the EU product description requirements would list this warning on such a product:

      "...he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and for the half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate." Dan. 9:27



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  2. So much negativity here.
    The document is a motu proprio for the purposes of amending Canon Law, why on earth would it be about Faith, Hope, Charity, Humility, Mercy, Jesuit fudging, or True doctrine. It is the Papal equivalent of the congress amending a law, it need not deal with weighty concepts as an encyclical would, and to suggest otherwise is simply unfair.
    Furthermore, the Holy See retains the power to confirm or reject proposed translations. There will be no 'free for all'. As the Note states, "In brief, the “confirmatio”, ordinarily granted based on trust and confidence, supposes a positive evaluation of the faithfulness and congruence of the texts produced with respect to the typical Latin text, above all taking account of the texts of greatest importance (e.g. the sacramental formulae, which require the approval of the Holy Father, the Order of Mass, the Eucharistic Prayers and the Prayers of Ordination, which all require a detailed review)."

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    1. All very nice but as we know from years of experience, everything depends on enforcement. For example the German bishops simply decided to reject the translation of the Mass Pope Benedict said they had to accept. They didn't announce their rejection until Francis had been pope for a few months. There was no response from Pope Francis on the matter. That says it all.

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    2. This is presumably the same "Holy See retains the power to confirm or reject" which remained powerless to stop local Bishops' Conferences introducing communion in the hand and female altar servers?

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    3. Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Bishops must run their liturgical revisions past the CDW, I do believe? If that is in fact the case, has anyone seen the total overhaul completed by Francis last year of the CDW? He dismissed almost ALL of the conservative Bishops and appointed almost ALL liberal Bishops, rending Cardinal Sarah pretty much impotent as to having much of a voice in decision making. So.......wonder why he did that? Could it be that the plan all along was to 'decentralize' the N.O. Mass? I wonder what will happen when liberal regional Bishops want to 'revise' their liturgy into something quite 'adaptable' to modern life? (for the good of the 'flock' of course) The CDW which now consists of about 90% of Bishops that are quite liberal in their philosophy of the liturgy are going to 'deny' these 'revisions'? I also wonder what will happen if a conservative Bishop wants to 'revise' the liturgy even more in line with the Latin translation? Of course the CDW would 'approve' right? Ah huh, I'm sure it will all work out just lovely.

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  3. A Latin translation for Waltzing Matilda - class!

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    1. I thought "Et cum spiritu tuo" translates as "And up yours too."

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  4. Most of the priests I've encountered since V2 seem to feel entitled to busk parts of the liturgy anyway, according to their own tastes. What with one of them waving the consecrated Host around bellowing THIS IS JESUS! at the elevation, and another insisting on using the previous [mis-] translation of pro multis and emphasising for ALL with a look on his face that clearly said "And anyone want to make anything of it?"....

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    1. Oh dear...it does have the ring of Southern Baptist about it.THIS IS JESUS. GET A LOAD OF THIS FOLKS !
      How absolutely awful !

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  5. Wolverhampton South-West Conference of Bishops, Preface 6 ½:

    All-hail to Gaia
    May her Earth-Spirit guide me higher
    Though my ignorance of theology may be entire
    If I am rigid, may my pants be set on fire.

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    1. guess a lot of bottoms
      are going to be burning
      suffering from a dearth
      of catholic learning

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  6. "I ask you to do everything possible to not destroy the Church with divisions;" P.Francis, 9/12/16.
    Wouldja pleese pass me that magnum of Vin Acular? Feelin' gloomy.

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