Having indicated the levels of authority under with reform\/restoration\/renewal of the Church\u2019s liturgy is to take place, the Council Fathers now consider the general norms for the process by which it is to take place.<\/p>\n
Vatican Website translation:<\/p>\n
23. That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress careful investigation is always to be made into each part of the liturgy which is to be revised. This investigation should be theological, historical, and pastoral. Also the general laws governing the structure and meaning of the liturgy must be studied in conjunction with the experience derived from recent liturgical reforms and from the indults conceded to various places. Finally, there must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing.
\nAs far as possible, notable differences between the rites used in adjacent regions must be carefully avoided.<\/p>\n
Latin text:<\/p>\n
23. Ut sana traditio retineatur et tamen via legitimae progressioni aperiatur, de singulis Liturgiae partibus recognoscendis accurata investigatio theologica, historica, pastoralis semper praecedat. Insuper considerentur cum leges generales structurae et mentis Liturgiae, tum experientia ex recentiore instauratione liturgica et ex indultis passim concessis promanans. Innovationes, demum, ne fiant nisi vera et certa utilitas Ecclesiae id exigat, et adhibita cautela ut novae formae ex formis iam exstantibus organice quodammodo crescant.<\/strong> Slavishly literal translation:<\/p>\n 23. So that healthy tradition be retained and nevertheless a way of lawful progress be opened, an accurate theological, historical, and pastoral investigation concerning each part of the Liturgy to be examined-and-revised must always take place first. Moreover both the general laws of the structure and mentality of the Liturgy as well as the experience gained from more recent liturgical reform\/restoration\/renewal and from indults granted here and there should be considered. Precisely there should be no innovations created unless the true and certain need of the Church should require it, and caution exhibited that new forms should grow organically in some way from those forms already existing.<\/p>\n Also care should be taken, insofar as it is possible to do so, lest notable differences of rites are held among adjoining regions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first part of the first sentence holds up a goal for this process: that healthy liturgical tradition be respected and fostered (which immediately raises the questions of whether or not unhealthy liturgical traditions may have distorted the Church\u2019s common prayer, who is to identify them, and what criteria are used in making that determination) while lawful progress in enriching liturgical tradition proceed (which immediately raises the question of what progress in liturgical tradition is, who is to identify it, and what criteria are used in making that determination.)<\/p>\n The second part of the first sentence and the second sentence detail three general areas in which liturgical scholarship is to serve the process of liturgical reform\/restoration\/renewal. It should be noted that this scholarship was to take into account the lived experience of liturgical reforms (such as the changes in the celebration of Holy Week dating to the 1950s) as well as more theoretical concerns. Pray Tell<\/em> readers might want to evaluate from a distance of half a century the characteristics and adequacy of the theological, historical, and pastoral scholarship grounding the work of the curial entities responsible for the reform of the liturgical books after Vatican II. What further theological, historical, and pastoral scholarship needs to be taken into account for future liturgical reform\/restoration\/renewal?<\/p>\n The third sentence sounds a note of caution: that genuine ecclesial need dictate any innovations made in the received liturgical texts and rites and that these innovations grow \u201corganically\u201d from earlier texts and rites. These assertions again raise questions: how would genuine ecclesial need for changes in liturgical texts and rites be determined, who would be responsible for making that determination, what criteria would be used, how would \u201corganic\u201d connection with previous texts and rites be demonstrated, who would make that determination, and what criteria would be used?<\/p>\n The final sentence asserts that the proposed revised texts and rites be part of a liturgical \u201cfamily\u201d able to be recognized by worshipers in adjacent regions.<\/p>\n It seems to me that much of the disagreement expressed by Pray, Tell commentators stems from differing perceptions of article 23. I look forward to seeing if we can come to some consensus on its meaning as the Council Fathers intended it and on what guidance it might offer for present and future liturgical renewal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Readers might want to evaluate from a distance of half a century the characteristics and adequacy of the theological, historical, and pastoral scholarship grounding the work of the curial entities responsible for the reform of the liturgical books after Vatican II. What further theological, historical, and pastoral scholarship needs to be taken into account for future liturgical reform\/restoration\/renewal?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3814,32],"tags":[2263],"class_list":["post-17278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-re-reading-sacrosanctum-concilium","category-vatican-ii","tag-re-reading-sacrosanctum-concilium"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n Caveatur etiam, in quantum fieri potest, ne notabiles differentiae rituum inter finitimas regiones habeantur.<\/strong><\/p>\n