''Liturgiam authenticam'' (titled: ''De usu linguarum popularium in libris liturgiae Romanae edendis'') is an instruction of the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

, dated 28 March 2001. This instruction included the requirement that, in translations of the

liturgical text A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic ...

s or of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, "the original text, insofar as possible, must be translated integrally and in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without

paraphrase A paraphrase () or rephrase is the rendering of the same text in different words without losing the meaning of the text itself. More often than not, a paraphrased text can convey its meaning better than the original words. In other words, it is a ...

s or glosses. Any adaptation to the characteristics or the nature of the various

vernacular languages Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of language, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More narr ...

is to be sober and discreet." (n. 20)

Content

Use of the ''Nova Vulgata''

''Liturgiam authenticam'' established the ''

Nova Vulgata The ''Nova Vulgata'' (complete title: ''Nova Vulgata Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio'', ; abr. ''NV''), also called the Neo-Vulgate, is the Catholic Church's official Latin translation of the original-language texts of the Catholic canon of the Bibl ...

'' as "the point of reference as regards the delineation of the canonical text." Concerning the translation of

s, the instruction states: However, the instruction precises (n. 24) that translations should not be made from the ''Nova Vulgata'', but "must be made directly from the original texts, namely the Latin, as regards the texts of ecclesiastical composition, or the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, as the case may be, as regards the texts of

Sacred Scripture The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

". Therefore, the instruction does not recommend a translation of the Bible or of the liturgy based upon the Latin ''Nova Vulgata''; the ''Nova Vulgata'' must simply being used as an "auxiliary tool" (n. 24).

Reactions

The American

Catholic Biblical Association The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) is an American learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible. The suggestion to form a permanent association of biblical scholars was made at the beginning of 1936 at a meeting in ...

reacted negatively to the publication of the instruction. In reaction to this, Cardinal Medina wrote in ''

Notitiae ''Notitiae'', subtitled ''Commentarii ad nuntia de re liturgica edenda'', is the official journal of the Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. It was first published in 1965 by the Consilium for the Implemen ...

'' to answer criticisms and misunderstandings concerning the instruction.

Aftermath

In December 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

authorized a commission to study ''Liturgiam authenticam''.

References

External links

Text of the instruction
(Latin)

(English)