Worship Times

Eating our words

This space previously reported the difficulty publishers were having with the "499" rule imposed
by church authorities on the Catechism of the atholic Church (ML 24:5). It used to be that quoting 500 words or more would get the publication booted to a brand new review process by a brand new bishops committee that could delay going to press by a couple of months or a couple of years. Apparently the dust that was gathering on all the un-quoted Catechisms out there caused the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the atechism to rethink their policy. In a letter dated July 30, 1997, the committee authorized publishers to quote 1,000 words of the Catechism before approval is required. Now if they could just work on a word-limit for ad hoc committee titles.

Title trix

Just in case you have been fretting that Mary, Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven
and Earth, Mother of Grace and the Church, New Eve, Theotokos, and Throne of Wisdom didn't
have enough titles, a new one is in the offing. According to several press reports, John Paul II
may be planning to infallibly declare Mary to be Coredemptrix of Humanity, Mediatrix of All
Graces and Advocate for the People of God. This would be number 431 in the list of marian
monikers.

This possibility is raising some interesting controversies, according to a report by Tim
Unsworth in the July 18 issue of the National Catholic Reporter. Unlike his predecessors, Pius
IX and Pius XII, John Paul II does not intend to consult with his fellow bishops before the
promulgation of this dogma -- reportedly scheduled for May 31, 1998, the feast of Pentecost and
previously the liturgical feast of Mediatrix of All Graces. This has caused resistance among even
those bishops who might otherwise support the action.

Ironically, the pope may gain support from those who favor the ordination of women. The thinking goes that since a "coredeemer" is by definition be a priest, it could provide new ground for the argument that women should be priests.

The proposed declaration is sure to raise problems with the Orthodox and Protestant churches, both of whom would see the dogma as infringing on Christ's unique role as redeemer.

Even Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, does
not support the declaration of this dogma.

The pope is not completely out in left field, however. Since the title of "coredemptrix" began
floating around in the middle ages, the argument has always been made that St. Paul refers to
Christians as "co-workers" with Christ and that in Paul's theology of the "mystical body" all
Christians participate in the priestly, redemptive act of Christ. Mary would do so preeminently.
But, as Unsworth says at the conclusion of his article, "Such a view does not require an infallible
statement."

Lectionary approved

A couple of years ago, this space reported on the delays in getting Vatican approval for the revised NAB lectionary, which was originally approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1992 (Worship Times, ML 22:3). At the National Pastoral Musicians conference this past July, Fr. James Moroney, director of the secretariat for the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, reported that the inclusive language lectionary has now been approved, albeit with some compromises. Moroney also said that the New Revised Standard Version -- the inclusive language translation now being used in Canada -- will not be approved for use in the United States. He pointed out that Rome is moving toward allowing only one approved translation of a
given language in a given region. That would mean that eventually approval for the use of the Revised Standard Version and the Jerusalem Bible lectionaries may be withdrawn in the United
States. The release date of the new lectionary will be set after the BCL consults with the various
book and worship aid publishers in the U.S. For the computer literate, the Catholic Biblical Association of America is maintaining a web page with the history of the lectionary approval process. Go to http://www.cua.edu/www/org/cbib/watch.htm

Article watch

Bishop Donald W. Trautman's acceptance speech after being awarded the Michael Mathis Award last June is featured in the May/July issue of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions Newsletter. Trautman challenges those who wish to "reform the reform" -- groups such as Adoremus and CREDO and people such as Fr. Joseph Fessio and Msgr. Klaus Gamber.
"We do not need to reform the reform," said Trautman. "We need to revitalize the reform.... I
would like to use this occasion to enlist all of you in an effort to revitalize the reform. Liturgists need to stand together more than ever. What can you do? Teach, Teach, Teach. Liturgists have missed opportunities to use the media. We may have communicated with one another through liturgical journals and theological position papers, but be have missed golden opportunities to reach the people in the pews. We need a new catechesis. We must give better instruction. With charity and patience, we must dialogue with those blinded to liturgical renewal."

In the September issue of Assembly, Richard Vosko comments that no one wants the tabernacle
to be relegated to an insignificant place. However, since the reserved sacrament is not required for the celebration of Eucharist, ""that which houses the sacrament is also not required in the place where Eucharist happens." He then list four reasons why he thinks this is hard for some people to accept: 1. Some communities have not yet learned how to celebrate the rites fully; 2. Many places of worship have been built or renovated since the council without adequate profession direction; 3. The reserved sacrament continues to be a powerful symbol of unity for many people; 4. Some Catholics cannot bring themselves to give up what they say still distinguishes their faith from all the other religions. He goes on to list five suggestions for
dealing with the topic: 1. Provide adult catechesis; 2. Trust the teachings; 3. Improve the chapel
of the reserved Eucharist; 4. Improve the communion rite; 5. Remember the primary reasons for reserving the sacrament.

"Religious Humanism" is the focus of the Summer 1997 issue of Image: A Journal of the Arts
and Religion. Editor Gregory Wolfe begins with an editorial statement titled "Religious Humanism: A Manifesto." The title, he claims, is half-serious and half-ironic because religious humanists command no legions and mostly have no taste for manifestos. But Wolfe contends that religious humanism is the best solution to the ravages of the "culture wars." Wolfe offers a definition of religious humanism as that which holds in creative tension both the human and the divine. He identifies many of the paradoxes that crop up in the word of the religious humanist,
most of which revolve around that fact that a typical religious humanist is at the same time
deeply orthodox and profoundly open to the influences of the world. Among the exemplars of
this characteristic, he cites Cardinal John Henry Newman whose belief that "the unfolding of history enables us to see -- and respond to -- new facets of meaning in the ancient dogma -- is said to have been the underlying inspiration for the Second Vatican Council. In a summary statement of his "manifesto," Wolfe says, "The new religious humanists know that culture shapes and informs politics far more powerfully than the other way around. They recognize that symbolism, imagery, and language play a crucial role in forming attitudes and prejudices, and they have devoted themselves to nourishing the imaginative life. At a time when the model of Enlightenment rationalism is crumbling under the weight of post-modern cynicism and nihilism, the religious imagination can speak meaningfully into the void."

In the July/August issue, Christian Computing's tech guru, Dr. J. D. "Doc" Watson (doc@ccmag.com), lists several of his favorite computer user problems he's encountered.

One user couldn't understand why he was losing his data from his 5-1/4" diskettes. After some
questioning, it became clear that the user was using refrigerator magnets to hold the disks to the side of his computer. Another user had a similar problem, but no magnets were involved. He was placing labels on the diskettes and then rolling them into the type writer to type on them. One technician, dealing with an inexperienced user on the phone, asked her to stick the floppy in the drive and close the door. he heard her get up, walk across the room, and close the office door. And then there was the user who was having trouble getting the computer to fax anything. Turns out he was holding a piece of paper against the monitor and then hitting the "send" key.