USCCB Launches Web Site to Educate Catholics About New Roman Missal

September 28, 2009

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A new Web site launched Aug. 21 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was produced to educate Catholics about the forthcoming English translation of the new Roman Missal, the book of prayers used for Mass.

The site, www.usccb.org/romanmissal, has background material on the process of development of liturgical texts, sample texts from the missal, a glossary of terms and answers to frequently asked questions. Content will be added regularly over the next several months, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the USCCB. The bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship hopes the site will be a central resource for those preparing to implement the new text, the release said.

In the years since the Second Vatican Council, “we have learned a lot about the use of the vernacular in the liturgy and the new texts reflect this new understanding,” said the committee’s chairman, Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., in a video that welcomes visitors to the site. “The new texts are understandable, dignified and accurate,” he said. “They not only strive to make the meaning of the text accessible for the listener, but they also strive to unearth the biblical and theological richness of the Latin text.”