Wait just a minute here!
“Who still uses the term, “gibbet”?” Asked the man in red.
I don’t often take the time to write about English translations of the lectionaries, missals, or Bibles, which have been pretty crappy by the way - I leave that to the experts - who unfortunately seem to have no voice with the USCCB on such matters. (Our loss.)
That said - “they” are trying to finalize approval for a new translation of the Roman Missal in Florida this week, but so far, the Bishops cannot come to a decision. From California Daily:
“The task of providing a new translation of the Mass into English commenced in 2001 after the Holy See issued Liturgiam authenticam, which established new norms for the translation of liturgical texts. New translations, said the Vatican document, were to be more faithful to the Latin original, expressing its “dignity and oratorical rhythm.”
Bishop Galeone said the translation is too slavish to the original text and uses non-colloquial renderings, such as “the gibbet of the Cross.”
“The last time I heard that word [gibbet] was back in 1949, during Stations of the Cross in Lent,” said Galeone, according to a June 13 NCR story. - Source
If the Catholic laity in the US is the most educated in history - why all the fuss?
Hey! I just used gibbet in my prayer yesterday while meditating upon the mysteries of the Rosary. I also use “ineffable” every day in my prayers of reparation to the Holy Face. I don’t mean to get myself over-wrought on this subject, but I hardly think such words are archaic or foreign to worship. Perhaps these Bishops are only familiar with Centering Prayer techniques, or making up the Novus Ordo as they go along, and have lost touch with the more obscure traditional Catholic prayers and language. Indeed, some of them admit they have trouble understanding traditional anything:
Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba of Milwaukee agreed with Galeone. “If I have trouble understanding the text when I read it,” he said, “I wonder how it’s going to be possible to pray with it in the context of worship.” Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania complained of the translation’s use of “archaic and obscure” terms, such as “wrought” and “ineffable,” and about its Latin-style sentences that use more dependent clauses. - Source
Maybe it is just some of the Bishops who have all the problems with comprehension?
(BTW - Last time I checked, the current Roman Missal was selling for around $70. Now there will be a new translation coming out - and it will not be cheap. Do you think these gentlemen would at least have the gallantry and respect for the faithful to get it right this time? People are tired of throwing money away on every new translation that comes off the press.)
Art: “Dead Bishops” Fernando Botero
