What secular media sources are saying about the Roman Missal revisions

News of the upcoming implementation of the revised Roman Missal is getting major play now that the nation's most prominent newspaper, The New York Times, has written an article about it. (As one colleague here at OSV asked, "Aren't they coming a little late to the party?")

The story, by religion reporter Laurie Goodstein, largely focuses on the criticisms of the new translation — after all, the headline is "For New Mass, Closer to Latin, Critics Voice a Plain Objection." And it includes priests from Ireland, Australia and the United States who, indeed, have objected to the revisions.

But it also quotes Father Richard Hilgartner of the USCCB's Secretariat of Divine Worship, who, while acknowledging it will take time for people to get used to the changes, pointed out that the revisions are "a catechetical opportunity." He told the Times:

"The new translation tries to be more faithful to the Scriptures, and a little more poetic and evocative in terms of imagery and metaphor.”

Read the entire article.

The New York Times is not the only secular media outlet reporting on the changes coming to the Mass. The National Post of Canada also has a piece about it. It, too, gives much play to the naysayers.