The Deacon's Bench
From my conversations with clergy around the country, this result isn’t all that surprising. But the sampling is: just 539 parishes responded, out of 6,000 that were invited to participate (from about 17,000 parishes in the U.S. )
Nonetheless, here’s what those in the poll are saying, via NCR:
Leaders at 539 parishes across the country indicate their disagreement with the new translation in a new study conducted by Georgetown’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and released Tuesday in conjunction with the popular liturgical blogPrayTell.
The translation went into effect in fall 2011 and has been criticized because of its use of awkward and stilted English in translating from the Latin version of the Mass. While Tuesday’s survey rehashes many of the talking points of those opposed to the translation, it also paints in stark relief the struggle many parishes are still having in adopting the new text.
For example, some 75 percent of respondents said they either “agree” or “strongly agree” that “some of the language of the new text is awkward and distracting.” Forty-seven percent answered “strongly agree” to that statement.
Likewise, an even 50 percent of those answering said they “agree” or “strongly agree” that “the new translation urgently needs to be revised.” 33 percent answered “strongly agree” on that statement.
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