NEWS BITES:

Vatican recalls Ireland’s apostolic nuncio for consultations

The Holy See has recalled its apostolic nuncio to Ireland after the Irish prime minister harshly criticized the Vatican for being “entirely unhelpful” to Irish bishops who, wanted to implement stronger norms for dealing with accusations and protecting children. The recall stemmed from a commission report called the Cloyne Report which found the Cloyne diocese has mishandled alleged of clergy sexual abuse between 1996 and 2008 and that the former bishop [Bishop John McGee] paid “little or no attention” to safeguarding children and that he falsely told the government his diocese was reporting all allegations of abuse to civil authorities. [See NFPC This Week, #435, 7/10-7/16/2011].

According to a Catholic News Service (July 25, 2011) report, on July 10, Prime Minister Enda Kenny in an address to the Irish parliament said the Cloyne Report “exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago. And in doing so, the Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and the narcissism that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day.”
 
After the prime minister spoke, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, issued a statement calling for greater objectivity in discussing “topics so dramatic” because the first concern of all should be “the safeguarding of children and of young people and the renewal of a climate of trust and collaboration” between church and state. For the entire CNS report, go to: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1102938.htm.

Vox Clara Committee working on additional liturgical translations

The Vox Clara Committee is already at work on translating into the English language additional texts that bishops use at Chrism Masses and the Holy Week liturgy where the oils used in the sacraments throughout the year are blessed. According to the Catholic News Service (July 27, 2011), the committee met from July 24-26 and issued a statement about its work on July 27.

The CNS report states that in the United States and Canada, the bishops’ prayers for blessing the oils were included in the old missal, which will go out of use on the first Sunday of Advent 2011. To avoid a situation in which bishops would need to pull the old missal off the shelf for the solemn Mass in 2012, the congregation commissioned its own draft translation of the prayers. The report further states the translation was reviewed by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL)––which normally drafts the translations––and was revised in consultation with Vox Clara. For the complete CNS report, go to:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1102968.htm.