Pro Multis

Dom has a copy of the letter from Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, to the heads of all the national episcopal conferences regarding the pro multis translation. Quick take: "for all" is to be replaced by "for many" in translations as a more precise vernacular translation. Which is a good thing not only for being more exact, but that it takes off the table a complaint by many traditionalists. I never thought it was a great problem to become excised about in the first place, especially that it somehow invalidates the consecration, it is just much more precise to use a better translation of the Greek words used from Mark and Matthew.

Back on June 15th the Bishops did address this subject.

Bishop Trautman: Please recall that we did have a consultation on this. Overwhelmingly the American bishops favored the wording that we have now. And we do have some word from the Congregation that this is under active advisement right now. We expect the Holy Father and the Congregation to respond in the near future. So that’s what the response of the committee indicates. But we have declined, at this point, to change it.

Bishop Foley: Because pro multis is used quite extensively in the Scripture. And I look forward to hearing the Holy See, because I feel that it is an important point.

Bishop Trautman: At this point, though, the committee is saying we will stay with the wording that reflects the vast majority of bishops through the consultation. If the Holy See were to change then there will be a proper adjustment.

So I wonder how long the "proper adjustment" will take, though I would imagine it will be incorporated along with the other translation changes to the Mass.

A reader has a nice graphic for this on his blog.

Update: Father Z emphasizes that this change was done in request of the Holy Father since Cardinal Arinze’s letter says "At his direction,"

This is not the decision of either the CDWDS or the CDF. This was the Pope’s decision. As I have written elsewhere, the translations of sacramental forms are reserved to the Pope alone.

We find this in the Holy See’s official instrument of promulgation, Acta Apostolicae Sedis for 28 February 1974 (AAS 66 (1974) 98-99). Here we find a circular letter dated 25 October 1973 over the signature of then Secretary of State Jean Card. Villot, countersigned by Archbp. Annibale Bugnini (my translation from the Latin): “The Supreme Pontiff reserves to himself the power of approving directly all translations into vernacular languages of the formulas of sacraments.”

There is no appeal against this decision.