The Pope will test a new translation of the Roman Catholic Missal when he visits the UK in September.
Catholics have used the Missal, which contains the order of the Mass, since the Middle Ages, when the ancient prayers and rites of the Church were gathered together in a single book.
Originally in Latin, the Missal was translated into English and other languages for the first time in the 1960s, following the Second Vatican Council's decision to make the liturgy available in the language of the people.
The change irked many traditionalists, although in 2007 the Pope declared that priests would once again be allowed to say the Latin "Tridentine" Mass under some conditions.
Pope Benedict XVI will use newly translated portions of the Mass in the UK, although the Church will not publish the new Missal in full until 2011, for use by priests in the US.
In a press release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, New Jersey, said, "I am happy that after years of preparation, we now have a text that, when introduced late next year, will enable the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in our parishes."
Not everyone is happy about the new translation, however.
Speaking to Associated Press, Reverend Thomas Reese of Georgetown University said the change "will impact every Catholic in every parish because they will have to learn new responses in place of the ones they have been using since Vatican II."
He described the new Missal as "a step backwards and confusing to the people in the pews."
Bishop Donald Trautman told an audience last year that the translation was "slavishly literal."
The new Missal debuts in US churches from November 27 next year, in time for the season of Advent.
23 August 2010
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