Pope hopes new translation of Roman Missal will renew English-speaking world

(April29,2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday welcomed the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication and thanked the members of the Vox Clara Committee for their arduous work. The committee, formed in 2001 under the leadership of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, is a panel of bishops, who provide advice to the Holy See concerning English-language liturgical books. The Pontiff lauded the committee members for their painstaking work of overseeing the preparation and translation of texts that proclaim the truth of our redemption in Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. He said through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people.
The Pope acknowledged that many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts, after nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation. "The change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity," the Pontiff said, "and the opportunity for catechesis that it presents ,will need to be firmly grasped." The Pope prayed that the change will serve as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world.