Vatican norms
Below are the Vatican norms for the translation of biblical
texts for use in the liturgy presented to U.S. bishops by Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger earlier this year, more than five years after U.S. bishops asked the
Vatican to approve revised liturgical texts.
1. The church must always seek to convey accurately in translation
the texts she has inherited from the biblical, liturgical and patristic
tradition and instruct the faithful in their proper meaning.
2. The first principle with respect to biblical texts is that of
fidelity, maximum possible fidelity to the words of the text. Biblical
translations should be faithful to the original language used by the human
author in order to be understood by his intended reader. Every concept in the
original text should be translated in its context. Above all, translations must
be faithful to the sense of sacred scripture understood as a unity and
totality, which finds its center in Christ, the Son of God, incarnate (cf. DV
III and IV), as confessed in the creeds of the church.
3. The translation of scripture should faithfully reflect the Word
of God in the original human languages. It must be listened to in its
time-conditioned, at times even inelegant, mode of human expression without
correction or improvement in service of modern
sensitivities.
a) In liturgical translations or reading where the text is very
uncertain or in which the meaning is very much disputed, the translation should
be made with due regard to the New-Vulgate.
b) If explanations are deemed to be pastorally necessary or
appropriate, they should be given in editorial notes, commentaries, homilies,
etc.
4/1. The natural gender of personae in the Bible, including the
human author of various texts where evident, must not be changed insofar as
this is possible in the receptor language.
4/2. The grammatical gender of God, pagan deities, and angels and
demons according to the original texts must not be changed insofar as this is
possible in the receptor language.
4/3. In fidelity to the inspired Word of God, in the traditional
biblical usage for naming the persons of the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit is to be retained.
4/4. Similarly, in keeping with the churchs tradition, the
feminine and neuter pronouns are not to be used to refer to the person of the
Holy Spirit.
4/5. There shall be no systematic substitution of the masculine
pronoun or possessive adjective to refer to God in correspondence to the
original text.
4/6. Kinship terms that are clearly gender specific, as indicated
by the context, should be respected in translation.
5. Grammatical number and person of the original texts ordinarily
should be maintained.
6/1. Translation should strive to preserve the connotations as
well as the denotations of words or expressions in the original and thus not
preclude possible layers of meaning.
6/2. For example, where the New Testament or the churchs
tradition have interpreted certain texts of the Old Testament in a
Christological fashion, special care should be observed in the translation of
these texts so that a Christological meaning is not precluded.
6/3. Thus, the word man in English should as a rule
translate adam and anthropos since there is no one synonym
which effectively conveys the play between the individual, the collectivity and
the unity of the human family so important, for example, to expression of
Christian doctrine and anthropology.
National Catholic Reporter, July 4,
1997
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