Rorate Caeli

Laughter is the best medicine

A more traditional and “Roman” translation of the Mass into English currently in the pipeline may dampen enthusiasm for wider use of the pre-Vatican II Mass, according to the executive director of the commission charged with preparing that translation. [John Allen]
Ha! One can just see the throngs of Traditional-minded Catholics rushing to new Masses because of "And with your spirit"... Allen had also said earlier that:

It is testament to Tornielli's stellar reputation that people by and large took his report on faith, ... [John Allen]

No, actually it is a testament to Allen's abysmal incompetence (or bias) that he could not follow the many clues regarding this eventual document. This is not the first time in recent months that Allen's ideological bias has prevented him from following up on great stories -- he virtually ignored the most important pronouncement of this pontificate, the Christmas Address to the Roman Curia, for weeks in a row.

People had been talking about this possible document for a while -- and not only Vaticanist Andrea Tornielli, but also Marco Tosatti, of La Stampa (see here and translation here), mentioned the same document on the same day, adding many important details to Tornielli's version. It wasn't Tornielli who gave the news of the document to the Archbishop of Winnipeg days before he wrote about it in Il Giornale... Tornielli was not the Vatican source who confirmed it to the news agency of the Italian Episcopal Conference; it wasn't Tornielli who told the French bishops' news agency that the document "is written".

Maybe it is about time Allen would change his sources... or tell us what else he knows. Or maybe John Allen still thinks that the Pope is trying to build "consensus"... Or is he? Last Monday, Benedict warned the students of the Pontifical Universities in Rome:

Our words can only have any value and usefulness if they come from the silence of contemplation, not falling prey to the proliferation of worldly discourse, which seeks the consensus of common opinion.