Bishops Will Vote on Spanish-Language U.S. Propers at June Meeting

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2011)—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will vote on two liturgical items pertaining to the Spanish translation of the USA Propers and Adaptations to the Roman Missal, Third Edition, and the inclusion of a collection of Mass prayers for major patronal feasts from Spanish-speaking countries.

The Propers and Adaptations include liturgical feasts and celebrations specific to each country, which are not part of the common text. The U.S. English version received recognitio from the Holy See last June and has now been translated into Spanish.
 
Mass texts for principal patron-saint feast days of Spanish-speaking countries also are expected to be added as an appendix to the Spanish translation of the Missale Romanum editio typica tertia for use in the dioceses of the United States.

The USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanics and the Liturgy, which is part of the Divine Worship Committee, worked for more than a year on compiling this collection of patronal feasts from Latin America and Spain.

“A pastoral need for this collection of Mass prayers remains,” said Bishop Octavio Cisneros, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and chair of the subcommittee. “It seems very timely that we will be able to include them as an appendix to the new Spanish-language translation of the Roman Missal for use in dioceses of the United States.”

The texts are already approved for use in the respective Episcopal Conferences and USCCB has obtained permission for their use. As such, the texts themselves are not amendable. The U.S. bishops will vote on whether to include them as an appendix.

Both action items require approval by two thirds of the Latin Church members of the USCCB with subsequent confirmation by the Holy See.

The USCCB Subcommittee on Hispanics and the Liturgy also has reviewed selected portions of several translations from Spanish-speaking countries which have prepared and submitted translations of the Latin Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Several of them already received recognitio from the Holy See-- Colombia, Ecuador and the edition of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Spain and Mexico, are awaiting the recognitio. The subcommittee has decided to await the completed and approved translation for use in the dioceses of Mexico before making a selection of a text in Spanish for use in the dioceses of the United States. At that time, the complete text of the Spanish-language Roman Missal will be presented to the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship for consideration before presenting it to the full body of Bishops.

The Spring General Assembly of U.S. bishops will be held June 15-17, at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue Hotel in Seattle. The meeting will begin with Mass at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15.
           
The bishops also will debate and vote on revisions to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and a document on physician assisted suicide called “To Live Each Day With Dignity.”  The agenda also includes a presentation on the Defense of Marriage efforts of the USCCB, including a Spanish-language video,  and a report by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington on Anglicanorum coetibus, the Vatican guideline for allowing communities of Anglicans to enter into Full Communion with the Catholic Church.
           
Coverage of the meeting is open to credentialed media. Sessions open to the media will be Wednesday, June 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time and Thursday, June 16, until 10:30 a.m. Pacific time. There will be media conferences after all open sessions. Reporters seeking to cover the meeting can download a credential application form at https://www.usccb.org/comm/credentialform.pdf and submit it by June 3, by fax to (202) 541-3173, or mail to:

June Meeting Credentials
Office of Media Relations
3211 4th St. NE
Washington, DC 20017-1194

---
Keywords: liturgy, Spanish, Spanish Propers, Roman Missal, Bishop Octavio Cisneros, Divine Worship, Hispanics, Spring General Assembly, June meeting, Seattle