c. 1996 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ In an effort to resolve one of the thorniest disputes between the American church and Rome, the Vatican agreed on Friday (Dec. 13) to speed up talks with the U.S. hierarchy on the use of”inclusive language”in the biblical texts read during Mass.

The accord sets up a working group between the two sides to thrash out differences that emerged four years ago when a Vatican panel, with Pope John Paul II’s support, rejected gender-neutral language in the Bible’s Sunday Mass readings, known as the Lectionary.

Following the meeting between seven U.S. cardinals and key papal aides, the Vatican issued a statement that said a”final review”of the disputed language would begin early next year”and be concluded as soon as possible.” It said that the two groups agreed to”fidelity to the sacred text and the doctrine of the church”as a key principle in approving translation of biblical texts into English.

But the Vatican’s readiness to accelerate discussions on the use of modern language in Scripture and liturgy suggests that some accommodation may be in the offing.”The encouraging side is that it’s going to finish up. The discouraging side is that the text had already been approved by the American bishops in the United States,”said Gabe Huck, director of Liturgy Training Publications of the Chicago Archdiocese. Huck has been a critic of the Vatican’s refusal to accept the version of the texts previously approved by the American bishops.”Why this needs to be altered, adjusted, argued about between them and largely non-English speakers in Rome is beyond most of us,”Huck added.

Five of the seven cardinals who attended the meeting were unavailable for comment, and two of the prelates _ Cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia and Adam Maida of Detroit _ refused to discuss the meeting’s outcome.

The other five cardinals at the meeting were Bernard Law of Boston; John O’Connor of New York; James Hickey of Washington, D.C.; Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and William Keeler of Baltimore.

At issue is whether the customary use of”man”in biblical texts is outdated and sexist and ought to be changed to use language that is more gender-neutral, and whether such a change would substantially alter the meaning of a verse.

But the larger question, Huck and others say, is whether the Roman Catholic Church is willing to accept widely varying cultural norms and the rights of bishops to interpret the customs of their flocks.

In 1990, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, reflecting the unique history of the American debate over what has come to be labeled”gender sensitivity,”voted in favor of what they called”inclusive language.”One year later, the U.S. bishops approved for use in worship settings the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV), a translation carried out by an ecumenical and interfaith group of scholars under the auspices of the National Council of Churches, a group of 33 Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations.

But some of the changes rankled conservatives.

For example, the passage in Genesis traditionally rendered as”Let us make man in our image”was changed in the NRSV to:”Let us make humankind in our image.”Likewise, I Corinthians 1:10, which read,”I appeal to you, brethren,”was changed to”I appeal to you, brothers and sisters.” In 1992, a Vatican committee charged with reviewing such changes, the Pontifical Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, gave its approval to the new version.

But two years later the Pontifical Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by conservative German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, used its veto power to nix the changes and revoke approval.

Ratzinger’s decision sparked an outpouring of protest in the United States from biblical scholars, liturgists and the laity, sharpening an already tense relationship between the Vatican and the U.S. church.

U.S. bishops and cardinals have appealed to the Vatican ever since to reverse the decision. Until now they have been met with steely silence.

Meanwhile, Catholic bishops in Canada have gone ahead and used the new biblical version at readings in Sunday Mass.

In addition to U.S. bishops, the working group charged with finding a solution to the impasse will include Ratzinger’s panel and the divine worship congregation.

MJP END HEILBRONNER