{"id":14269,"date":"2012-04-24T14:12:30","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T20:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=14269"},"modified":"2012-04-25T18:43:39","modified_gmt":"2012-04-26T00:43:39","slug":"pope-to-german-bishops-on-for-you-and-for-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2012\/04\/24\/pope-to-german-bishops-on-for-you-and-for-many\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope to German bishops on “for you and for many” UPDATED 4-25"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE 4-25:<\/strong> The full text of the pope’s letter in English translation is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a lengthy letter to the bishops in Germany (German-language bishops in other countries are also to receive the letter), Pope Benedict has explained in some detail his reasons for insisting upon \u201cfor many\u201d in the Eucharistic prayer. About a year ago, the German bishops informed the pope that there was division among German-speaking bishops on the question of \u201cfor many\u201d vs. \u201cfor all.\u201d The danger was imminent that, even if the bishops\u2019 conference were to unite around the wording \u201cfor many,\u201d some regions would opt to keep \u201cfor all\u201d in the forthcoming publication of the official hymnal Gotteslob<\/em> (\u201cPraise of God\u201d).<\/p>\n

The question is how to translate the words of the Lord in the Last supper narrative of the Eucharistic prayer, \u201cThis is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which will be poured out for many\u201d (Mark 14:24; cf. Matthew 26:28).<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s letter is pastoral in tone. He hopes that by persuasion he can bring about unity. The pope makes his case by placing the question in the larger context of difficult translation issues since the Second Vatican Council.<\/p>\n

To translate this as \u201cfor all\u201d is not purely translation, but interpretation. Significantly, the pope says that this interpretation was and is \u201cwell grounded.\u201d There were and are good reasons for conveying it as \u201cfor all.\u201d The problem is that this interpretation, however good, is going beyond translation. He writes, \u201cThis intermixing of translation and interpretation belongs, to a certain extent, to the principles which guided the translation of liturgical books immediately after the [Second Vatican] Council. One was aware of how far removed the bible and the liturgical texts were from the language and thought of people in today\u2019s world\u2026 One felt not only justified, but indeed obligated to intermix such interpretations in order to shorten the route to the people whose heart and understanding were to be reached by these words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there is justification for \u201csubstantial, not necessarily literal translation,\u201d wide divergences between various vernacular languages have come about, as have \u201cbanalities\u201d that represent \u201creal losses.\u201d The pope has become convinced in the course of the years that there are limits to the principle of translation with structural rather than literal correspondence. According to the pope, the 2001 Roman document on translation, Liturgiam authenticam<\/em>, placed the principle of literal correspondence in the foreground, \u201cof course without prescribing one-sided literalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope believes that \u201cthe sacred word must appear as itself as much as possible, even with its foreignness and the questions it brings.\u201d Interpretation, by contrast, is the task of the church. The very \u201cstructure of revelation\u201d demands that the word is read within the \u201cinterpretive community of the church.\u201d This is why the Holy See has determined that the Latin \u201cpro multis\u201d must be translated<\/strong> (emphasis in original) and not be given in what is already an interpretation.<\/p>\n

The pope emphasizes that Christ died for all, and that the church\u2019s teachings on this point has not changed. \u201cThat Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God is the man for all people, the new Adam, belongs to the fundamental certainties of our faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a two-level loyalty to the original text at play, according to the pope. The church has reverence for the words of Jesus. Jesus, for his part, said \u201cfor many\u201d because he saw himself as God\u2019s suffering servant of Isaiah 53, as the fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah. This double loyalty is the concrete reason for the church\u2019s formulation \u201cfor many.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope is well aware that this places an \u201cenormous responsibility\u201d upon those who interpret the Word of God. Changes in liturgical forms and texts have a great human impact and can be disturbing, the pope says, \u201cas we all know from our experiences in the last 50 years.\u201d Catechesis is necessary, and it must precede the change from \u201cfor all\u201d to \u201cfor many.\u201d The pope writes to implore his brother bishops urgently to undertake such catechesis.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The pope distinguishes between “substantial” and “literal” (inhaltlich<\/em> and w\u00f6rtlich<\/em>) translation, which of course reminds English speakers of the distinction between “dynamic equivalence” and “formal equivalence.” Forty or fifty years ago, this distinction was widely employed in translation studies.\u00a0A possible\u00a0problem with the pope’s position is that the distinction has been abandoned by so many translation theorists in recent decades.<\/p>\n

All translation strives for some sort of equivalence. But there are so many types of equivalence, and consequently every translation, in making the choices that inevitably must be made, ends up being “dynamic” in some sense. There is no “w\u00f6rtlich” translation, strictly speaking. Every translation makes some sort of decision – an interpretation – about what the “inhalt” is or how it is to be expressed.<\/p>\n

A further interesting point is that the recently-approved English translation of the Roman Missal is not always satisfied with pure “translation” but clearly opts for “interpretation” in some cases. For now I’ll simply note the point and leave it to readers to give examples they have found, if they wish.<\/p>\n

awr<\/p>\n

Source: domradio.de<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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