FEW WEEKS AGO, the Executive Director (emeritus) of ICEL, Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth publicly weighed in on our series, “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation.” The claim he made is anything but new. Indeed, it’s been repeated for 60+ years. Specifically, Monsignor Wadsworth justified and defended making a profit by selling the Scripture readings which are mandatory for Holy Mass because the “translators” must be paid (screenshot). Let’s delve into this assertion.
Changing One Word • Our current LECTIONARY translation for the psalter, forcibly sold to unsuspecting Catholics over and over again since 1970 (and revised slightly in 1998), was created by FATHER LOUIS FRANCIS HARTMAN (d. 1970) and his team. It was published five years after World War II. Consider the following chart:
* PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART (Psalm 121)
—We thank the CCW staff for technical assistance with this graph.
Notice that our lectionary
translation is identical to
Rev. Louis Hartman’s version
published 5 years after WWII
except for one word.
(1) Hartman Profits • We’ve been assured it’s absolutely fine to sell the mandatory Scripture texts because profit must go to the translators. This same psalm has been sold over and over to parishes since 1970. It is estimated that $575 million has been paid in royalties to the various shell organizations since 1970. (Remember that many countries besides the United States are English-speaking and use part of our LECTIONARY.) Father Hartman died in 1970. We demand to know how much money has gone to Father Hartman over all these years.
(2) Unaccountable • The chart shows that just one word (“brothers”) was changed in the 1998 LECTIONARY. Who specifically made that alteration? Who approved it, based upon what specific criteria? The bishops we speak to claim they have virtually nothing to do with any of these decisions. They just show up each November and vote on whatever’s been worked out by the ‘liturgical bureaucracy’ in Washington D.C. But faithful Catholics are the ones paying for all this. At a minimum, we must be told who specifically is making these decisions. (Remember that their salaries have been paid—without knowledge or consent—by faithful Catholics all these decades.)
(3) Ruthless Enforcement • The various shell corporations which profit from selling the same bits Sacred Scripture year after year are ruthless when it comes to their “rights.” They control all dissemination: broadcast, radio, television, YouTube, and so forth. As a result, the painstaking work of Father Hartman, published 5 years after World War II, is guarded as if it were the nuclear codes. The shell corporations determine who is allowed to place bits of ‘their’ Sacred Scripture on YouTube, and under what circumstances. Is anyone willing to defend such an arrangement?
Monsignor Wadsworth insisted that “the principal reason for the copyrighting of the liturgical text [is] to ensure everyone uses the same officially approved text.” But will anyone defend bizarre and reprehensible examples like this, which have been enforced for decades?
Why This Matters • For more than a decade, we’ve been told a “new” LECTIONARY is being produced for the United States. Who specifically is pushing for this? What is the specific criteria for this most recent tinkering? What specific information has been given to the bishops about this? Is there any truth to the assertion this is only being done because Father Hartman’s copyright expires in 2025? We can’t shake the feeling that foxes are once again being given free access to the chicken coop—the very same foxes who caused so much harm over the last 60+ years.
ROBERT O’NEILL
Former associate of Monsignor
Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt
at Boys Town in Nebraska
JAMES ARNOLD
Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge
A convert to the Catholic Church, and
distant relative of J. H. Arnold
MARIA B.
Currently serves as a musician in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.
Those aware of the situation in
her diocese won’t be surprised she
chose to withhold her last name.
