Religious in Ireland tried to ‘delay’ new Missal
Sarah Mac Donald
THE CONFERENCE of Religious of Ireland (Cori) has confirmed that it tried to persuade the Irish Bishops’ Conference to delay the introduction of the new translation of the Missal, fearing it would cause further diffi- culties for a Church already in crisis. The request was made in a letter to Cardinal Seán Brady and other bishops last spring by Cori director general, Sr Marianne O’Connor, on behalf of her executive. Sr Marianne told The Tablet that she
expressed misgivings about the new transla- tion, “given the current state of the Church and the possible misinterpretation of its intro- duction at this point in time”. She said that Cardinal Brady and three rep-
resentatives of the bishops’ conference ruled that since the rest of the English-speaking world had agreed to introduce the revised texts in Advent, the bishops “were not taking on board our request for a deferral”. News of the Cori request came to light in
an open letter to women Religious by Sr Dairne McHenry in this month’s issue of The Furrow, which criticised Cori for not disclosing its intervention.
Sr Dairne said that while she could under- stand that Cori might not have wished to publish the correspondence, this would not have prevented the group from publishing the fact of the correspondence in the context of “the deeper issues underlying [the trans- lation’s] acceptance by the Conference of Bishops”. Sr Marianne said that Cori’s members had been made aware of the approach and saw no reason why it should have been publicised further. “I don’t see what benefit would have accrued in going public on it,” she said. “This was a matter for one conference, conveying on behalf of its members who are the leaders of con- gregations, to another conference, an opinion and a request which subsequently was dis- cussed and explained as to why that request wasn’t being adhered to.”
Smarten up the liturgy, says Vatican adviser
THE STANDARD of liturgy in England and Wales is in need of improvement with better music, art and vestments, according to a consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship (CDW), writes Christopher Lamb. In a new pamphlet for the Catholic Truth
Society, Abbot Cuthbert Johnson says that liturgies sometimes lack “a sense of mystery in God’s presence in our midst” and that there is a “widespread desire to see more dignity and beauty” at Mass. The new missal trans- lation, he believes, is a chance to improve standards. Abbot Johnson is an adviser to Vox Clara, the body assisting the Holy See on English language liturgical texts. He worked at the CDW between 1983 and 1994. His pamphlet, entitled “Participating in the
Mass”, argues that a “neglect” of aesthetics has been “detrimental to the faith”, resulting
in the poor standard of liturgical art and the “feeble quality of some modern sacred images”. “It is time to put an end to cheap and tasteless posters and banners and ensure that beauty is restored to worship in form, colour and sound,” he writes. The quality of liturgical dress among priests is another cause of concern, with Abbot Johnson arguing that when attending Mass standards of dress for the laity “should not be less than is expected or even demanded in civic buildings and restaurants”. Abbot Johnson, the former abbot of Quarr
Abbey, Isle of Wight, and now chaplain to the Tyburn Convent, central London, also believes the use of hymns at Mass should be carefully regulated. He said that elements in some hymns are unsuitable for a “mature Christian community” and those used should “be chosen according to the occasion”.
Embryonic cells to treat blindness
A PRO-LIFE academic has questioned a British decision to allow the use of embryonic stem cells to treat patients suffering from a degenerative eye disease, writes Sam Adams. Surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital in
London will inject the cells into the eyes of people suffering from Stargardt’s macular dystrophy in a bid to cure the condition – after they were granted permission to trial the procedure by the UK’s Medicines and
Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The scientists hope the trial, which is the first of its kind in Europe, will lead to a successful treatment for Stargardt’s, which is one of the main causes of blindness in young people. But David Jones, professor of bioethics at
St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, said he was unconvinced by the use of embryonic stem cells in such cases, explaining that adult stem cells can be used instead.
FROM THE ARCHIVE 50 YEARS AGO
It would really hardly seem necessary, all things considered, to rebuild the Tower of Babel in this day and age, but this is what the Government of Iraq is proposing to do. The Tower, or at least the great storeyed skyscraper on a square base which rose from the site of ancient Babylon and has been identified as such, is to be found near the present-day town of Hilleh, rather less than 100 miles from Baghdad; it was almost entirely destroyed by the Persians under Xerxes, but Alexander the Great, who had seriously considered rebuilding it, was put off … because it appeared that it would require about 10,000 workmen labouring for two months before the site could even be cleared for rebuilding. Not daunted, the Iraqis reckon that there is enough documentation in the manuscripts in the national archives on the appearance of the original tower and its decoration to enable them to make a perfect recon- struction, though one cannot help feeling a little doubtful about this. It will be rebuilt floor by floor until it reaches its full height of something in the neighbourhood of 300 feet, from which it is justifiably expected there will be a magnificent view over all the ancient Babylonian ruins in the vicinity.
The Tablet, 30 September 1961 100 YEARS AGO
Some years ago the Abbé Daney, parish priest of Toctoucan, near Bordeaux, watched a forest fire which worked havoc in the lands of his parishioners. Ever since he has been trying to perfect a scientific method of put- ting out fires. Some most successful demonstrations of the efficacy of the Abbé’s intervention were given last week at St Joseph’s College, Beulah Hill, south London. Father Varin, who is representing the Abbé in England, described the new invention as consisting of an accumulator containing special liquefied gases with fire-extinguish- ing properties. These gases work on a solution of fireproof salts unknown before. The water contained in the appar atus is only meant to convey the gases and salts. Among the advantages claimed for the Abbé’s intervention are the following. The liquid is projected a great distance; it evaporates on reaching the fire, and there- fore water damage is avoided; the gases evolved by the evaporation render the fabric of the burning part non- inflammable, so that they cannot be again ignited; the liquid is quite harmless to human life. A public demonstration is being arranged to take place at an early date at Shepherd’s Bush, when a fire brigade and the French priest’s discovery will act in competition. The Tablet, 30 September 1911
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