Cardinal George on liturgical translations, abuse scandals, the ‘price of citizenship’

October 29, 2014

In an interview with America magazine, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago discussed his illness and addressed a range of questions.

Strongly criticizing the English translation of the Mass that was in use from the 1970s until 2011, the prelate said that “the first full translation of the missal of Paul VI was ideologically charged.”

“Since the liturgy, along with Sacred Scripture, is the primary carrier of the tradition that unites us to Christ, the loss of the theology of grace, the domestication of God, the paraphrasing that deliberately omitted nuances of understanding, the deliberate omission of biblical references in the liturgical text itself, etc., left the Church for 40 years without a way of worship that adequately expressed our faith,” he added.

Cardinal George also commented on the clerical abuse scandal and the challenges of being Catholic in the United States today.

“I think the bishops have done well in understanding that zero tolerance, which was very difficult for Rome to accept ten years ago, is the basis of our ensuring that children will be safe and that the moral credibility of the Church will be restored,” he said. “Some have done less well in setting up the procedures and the systems needed to determine whether or not a priest or a deacon is truly guilty of having abused a minor child.”

He added:

I don’t believe the bishops have been more politically active in recent years, but it is true that our political activity is more adversarial as the law no longer permits the “exceptions” that used to safeguard believers whose conscience will not permit them to approve of what has become lawful.

The “price of citizenship” is high when it means one must approve as human rights the killing of the unborn, the creation of false marriages between two men or two women, the universal availability of free contraceptives, especially for women from a very young age … My own conviction is that we must be completely clear about the Gospel and how it is to change us, and then we work respectfully with individuals and groups who cannot agree with us. I do not know that we will be permitted to have that pastoral approach in the immediate future. We will not be permitted to enter into the public conversation unless we approve of what our faith knows to be morally wrong.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• The Role of an Archbishop: An Interview with Cardinal Francis George (America)