Pope to OK use of indigenous languages for Mass in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Pope to OK use of indigenous languages
Feb 5, 3:06 PM EST

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis will issue a decree authorizing the use of indigenous languages in Mass celebrations when he travels to Mexico next week, one of the symbolic gestures he will make in defense of Indian rights in the country.

The Vatican said Friday that Francis will present the decree during a Mass dedicated to indigenous people in the state of Chiapas on Feb. 15.

Some church authorities had long bristled at the inclusion of indigenous elements in Masses, which was championed by the late bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Samuel Ruiz.

Francis, however, has approved such translations of the liturgy and the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Chiapas Mass itself would include readings and songs in three different indigenous languages.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_MEXICO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-02-05-14-27-34

[Kingofalldems]

1. I had no idea.

I thought this was settled in Vatican II where Masses could be said in the local language.

[forest444]

4. Das ist so - but Pope Benedict had substantially reversed the policy.

You may recall that in 2007, Ratzo issued a papal bull (pun intended) that "discouraged" the use of anything but the infamous Tridentine Mass that Vatican II had in fact suppressed for being as antisemitic as it is unintelligible.

Too bad he wasn't as discouraging toward pedophilia and money laundering. Might have had a longer papacy.

[dembotoz]

2. services in the languge of the people what a concept

[MisterP]

3. a lot of it has always been simply mapping the concepts from one culture to another

even something as everyday as blood means radically different things in central Mexico as opposed to Europe; grappling with this in the Renaissance produced some ... interesting (i.e. Theosophical) ... results among certain friars

[Little Tich]

5. I lost my respect for Pope Francis when he canonized Junípero Serra.

Enslaving native Americans in the name of religion shouldn't be something that confers sainthood.