I think it's political correctness, which I would define as good intentions carried to a laughable extreme. It seems we pander to those who seem to feel entitled to be pandered to. A local priest has the best solution I have heard - do everything in Latin. It's supposed to be the international language of the Church, isn't it?

I think it's political correctness, which I would define as good intentions carried to a laughable extreme.

Agreed on the diagnosis and definition.

My first job as music director was a Catholic church with a Vietnamese priest who had an indecipherable accent. This was in high school, when I knew little more than that I didn't really like playing music on the piano. Even then, I thought to myself "Maybe they should have the Mass in Latin. Then no one would be able to understand what he's saying and we'd all be on equal ground."

I've seen a lot of different languages used in Orthodox liturgies. Sometimes, it is two or three languages (such as English, Slavonic, and Yup'ik Eskimo) which naturally flow one to the other; perhaps the Creed is in English, the Pater Noster in Slavonic, the Sanctus in Yup'ik, etc. I've also seen predominantly English liturgies sing "Lord have mercy" in many Orthodox languages during various litanies or, especially during Pascha, say "Christ is Risen! Indeed He is risen!" in as many languages as possible. I even did a reading for Agape Vespers on Pascha in Japanese because they read that Gospel in as many languages as members of their congregations know (and I was the only one around with Japanese ability).

These things point toward the diversity of the church without undermining its unity. There is no Eastern Orthodox liturgical language: since the days of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, liturgy has always been in the vernacular. I mean, when you really think about it, the reason we have Latin liturgies is because some people translated the original Greek/Aramaic liturgies into Latin for the Romans.

However, the Latin Rite church does have a liturgical language, so for a Latin-rite liturgy with many different languages present, Latin would seem to be the most international and multicultural choice; the choice that would most emphasize the unity of the church even in its diversity. If they really want to have bilingual liturgies, though (which is actually laudable, in my opinion, because having a "Spanish" Mass and an "English" Mass etc. fosters division and keeps various ethnic groups separated rather than integrating them) I would hope that the bilingual nature would extend to more of the Mass--propers, ordinaries, parts of the Eucharistic prayer, and so forth. And one's congregation would really have to be a bilingual, bicultural congregation, rather than just having the lingual mix to achieve a token amount of "inclusiveness" without basis in actual necessity.

Then again, when white, suburban Orthodox parishes use Slavonic or Greek responses, they're nodding not to their own "inclusiveness" but to their communion with Slavonic and Greek Orthodox churches. I mean, in Latin liturgies one still uses the "Kyrie eleison," nodding back to the Greek origin of the liturgy.

I guess it's a sticky issue, because the motivations of modern Catholic churches' choices are, unfortunately, now almost always suspect.

I, however, support the idea of multi-lingual liturgy, I think, so long as it is done organically and thoughtfully, rather than just for the novelty of it, or to make themselves look better in the eyes of modern (falsely) "multicultural" man.

This entire subject has surpassed condescending silliness. If I attended a Vietnamese, Spanish, Czech, or... or.... and they said one of the readings or a prayer in my language I would consider that I had been (as was said above) pandered to. I would be a guest in this parish and I would have come to experience fully its liturgical aesthetic, its spiritual ethos, unmitigated by silly 'inclusive' gestures - instead I would be treated to a liturgy which had been butchered for my sake by some paranoid chic 'liturgist'; and I would not be complemented nor pleased. Holy Mass is holy. It is not a crucible for social experiment. If it is Japanese, then let it be totally Japanese, with kabuki music and a Japanese ethos unapologised for. The same for an English mass, a Latin one, a French one, or any other; each culture should know that others respect its cultrural integrity and wish to experience the same. And let no one PRETEND that he or she doesn't know what is going on at mass regardless of the language & culture by which it is being celebrated.

The cultural aesthetic which attends each mass as an informing handmaid should be consistent throughout that mass. If it is English, then so let it be in the full beauty and ceremonial of the English tongue. If it is Spanish, Tamil, Urdu, Chinese, or Latin, the same should hold to its unmitigated integrity and specific beauty.

Yes, we know that the Oriental churches like to 'mix and match'. To my mind there is not cultural nor aesthetic unity in liturgy that can't make up it's mind what language it will be in, what spiritual ethos one is supposed to experience of worship through it. It is, I have said before, a hodge podge, a pastiche.

We have now many languages for mass. Each one should be celebrated (one at a time) unabashedly with all the panoply, ceremony, gravitas, and solemnity as might attend the highest of the high Benedictines. To do less is to insult God, and to insult people's intelligence in truly appreciating other cultures, and others theirs.

Agreed also with Osborn's general sentiment. By the same token, I would say to Jam that I find it quite frustrating visiting an Orthodox church with pews, which is all I can find here. Watering down one's own traditions won't impress most "foreign" visitors, they know what they're coming for!

David, I actually saw the same thing at an Episcopal church downtown where I used to sing. Imagine it: we sing the psalm, and as we sit down afterward, I hear someone yelling nonsense while the epistle starts! I thought there were wackos in the church! Then one of the tenors was having a good time noticing my obvious discomfort with the practice, and it became more difficult not to laugh.

Absurd comment, but it has to make one think: if the Holy Spirit made the people at Pentecost able to understand foreign tongues, what kind of spirit makes people unable to understand even their own tongue (as I couldn't hear the English reading over the others)?

Thanks to all for the interesting comments. I appreciate that I am not alone in this notion of "inclusivity". I particularly appreciated the notion of "social experiment", which my humble and small mind sees as another extension of the horizontalist praxis within Holy Mother Church.

The USCCB has produced several items on Diversity.
I seem to recall one or more BCL Newsletter entries, and one or more pamphlets.
I will try to locate the info and add it here.

http://www.usccb.org/mrs/welcome.shtml

There is a lot of info to wade through.

Among all the info I hope they state some principles and recommendations
from which we can determine whether or not current implementations
we experience are in compliance.

While naive politicians are promoting this 'multi-culturalism', are they aware of our American children (including second generations of immigrants who want to be accepted as Americans here and want to be able to communicate and succeed in this country) not learning proper English in public school? Who is going to defend American's primary language, English?

While many are focusing on diversity so much than unity in the church, do they realize that they are neglecting or even worse, abandoning our Church's own language and her tradition that have been the main tools and gifts of our faith for centuries?

Actually, I composed a trilingual mass:

Latin, English, Spanish

There's really something about music. I mean the power of the music.

I remember we used to sing the National anthem first thing in the morning on Mondays when the school starts. I don't think my children rarely have chance to sing American's National Anthem. When you hear it someplaces like in Olympics, you see even tough athletes wipe tears. I don't think the music itself is so emotional, but it brings out the feeling of the people who care about the country. And our patriotism is enhanced and expressed so beautifully through this kind of special music.

Same goes with Gregorian chants. I don't think we can really seperate Gregorian chants and our faith anymore.

Your wife is a very bright lady. I think the word is 'savvy'.
There can be little that is as transparent and lacking in substance
as the liturgically liberal and chic.

Mia and CPT:

Thank you for your candid reflections.

This gives me impetus to find out what our Spanish bretheren truly think. I have developed a great relationship with them since I have been here and I hope they will truly level with me. I will let you know what I discover.

The purpose of multi-lingual liturgies: Reminding foreigners that they are still foreigners. And telling them that we do not feel that they are part of our group and that they need to be reminded that this is our heritage and yours is different, so thanks for coming but you are still not part of things.

The quote of the week: Parish has been assigned a great African priest to which a local church lady was heard to say, "We're not even used to havin' Mexicans and they send us this?"

Randy Newman singing Rednecks....think he'd do a version called Catholics? "Keepin' the buh-lee-vers down."

But the Catholic liturgy is the most friendly over Protestant liturgies for people who are not conversant in the local language since the structure of Protestant liturgies ranges from structured to totally free-ranging. At Mass, unless the celebrant gets announcement crazy, anyone can tell exactly where we are in the Mass without being able to understand a word.

Understanding is nice, but being there is much more important.