CCBI President: Make liturgical celebration meaningful, active and participatory

Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão, the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), urged the faithful to make liturgical celebrations more meaningful, active and participatory.

Metropolitan Archbishop Ferrão of Goa and Daman was speaking at the launching of the book “Liturgical Books: Translation-Adaptation-Publication” on December 17, at Archbishop’s House, Panjim, in the western Indian state of Goa.

“The liturgical celebration becomes more experiential when it is celebrated in the vernacular languages. Language is the means by which we express thoughts and also religious experiences. The translation of the liturgical books and its adaptations in vernacular languages should follow the procedural norms and it should help the faithful to participate in the liturgical celebrations more meaningfully,” said Archbishop Ferrão.

According to the press note released by Father Stephen Alathara, the Deputy Secretary General, CCBI, the new book contains: (1) The Decree giving effect to the dispositions of canon 838 of the C.I.C.; (2) The Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio Magnum Principium (3) Canon 838 in the light of Conciliar and Post-Conciliar sources; and (4) A Key to the Reading of the Motu Proprio Magnum Principium.

The CCBI published the above-mentioned book, following the promulgation of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Magnum Principium, with which the norms of §§ 2 and 3 of canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law were changed. The recent Decree, published on October 22, 2021, by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, outlines the practical meaning of the 2017 reforms to the canon law on liturgical adaptations.

The press statement invites those interested for copies of the new book to kindly contact the CCBI General Secretariat or call  +91 9886730224.