Roman Missal Changes To Mass Rejected By Majority Of Catholic Priests, Survey Shows

A new translation of the Roman Missal sits on the altar after the Catholic Mass Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Montgomery, Ala. | ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted: 04/08/2014 7:49 pm EDT Updated: 04/09/2014 6:59 am EDT
Jaweed Kaleem
jaweed.kaleem@huffingtonpost.com

It's been more than two years since Catholics across the U.S. switched to a new Roman Missal, the prayers and instructions that make up the ritual "call and response" during Mass, but a new survey finds that a majority of priests still said they "don't like it."

The survey results, released Tuesday by the Catholic research organization Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA, show 52 percent of priests said they disliked the updated Roman Missal. Many said the new missal is too formal, awkward and distracting from worship.

The missal, implemented in November 2011 for use among the nation's 68 million Catholics, includes requirements for different responses from congregants in a dozen sections of Mass. For instance, priests previously said, "The Lord be with you," and congregations replied, "And also with you." Since the changes, congregations say, “And with your spirit.” During the Nicene Creed, the statement of faith, Catholics no longer say that Jesus is “one in being with the Father," but instead say Jesus is "consubstantial with the Father.” He's no longer "born of the Virgin Mary," but "incarnate of the Virgin Mary." The phrase "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again" was removed from the Mass entirely because it was never in the original Latin version, which the Vatican wanted the new missal to better reflect.

CARA, based at Georgetown University in Washington, found that 41 percent of the priests who were surveyed said they were "apprehensive" about the new missal before its release and "still don't like it." Meanwhile, 11 percent said they were looking forward to the new version before it was introduced, but changed their minds after priests and parishioners began using it. Only 27 percent said they were happy with the missal before and after the text's use in churches.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/08/roman-missal-mass-survey_n_5114138.html

Here's the survey:

http://www.praytellblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CARA-Missal-Study-April-2014.pdf