MANILA, Oct. 9, 2012— The Catholic Church in the Philippines will start the full implementation of changes to the Mass by December 2.
This also means that all the dioceses will start using the new English version of the Lord’s Prayer on the said date, which is also the first Sunday of Advent.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has voted for the adoption of the New English Translation of the Roman Missal during its plenary assembly in January 2011.
This year, the CBCP reaffirmed its decision to “fully implement” the new translation in which the text of the Lord’s Prayer is the 16th century version by December.
“In effect, what is contained in the said new English translation must be followed,” said CBCP president Archbishop Jose Palma in a letter, dated Oct. 3, to all the country’s dioceses.
The country’s dioceses have started with their catechesis on the revisions on the Roman Missal as early as January so as not to overwhelm the faithful with too many changes in the liturgy of the Church.
In the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, parishes started using the new English version of the Lord’s Prayer since February.
The Archdiocese of Manila and its suffragan, meanwhile, started to gradually implement the changes last June.
Gradual implementation, said Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, means that all the responses, acclamations and their musical settings were progressively introduced to the faithful.
A series of seminars were also held for priests to help them become familiar with the new translation of the Roman Missal, the book that contains the prayers and instructions for the liturgical celebration. (CBCPNews)
