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Good article. You would have been further heartened to hear Archbishop Dolan who appeared tonight on "The World Over" on EWTN and spoke about this very subject. He sees the confusion over translation(s) coming to an end and a return to the true Latin translation. There is a new leadership of conservatives rising out of the USCCB, thank God.

I find this confusing: "SSPX declares itself fully Roman Catholic, recognizing Pope John Paul II while respectfully maintaining certain serious reservations."

Shouldn't it be that Pope John Paul recognizes the SSPX while maintaining certain serious reservations? It seems to me that the writer has his statement backwards and I'd guess that men like Fr. Richard McBrien recognizes himself as "fully Roman Catholic," so I'm not sure what that means. I'm also wondering what the SSPX means when they say "recognizes Pope John Paul 11" - what do they recognize him as?

I'm glad to see changes coming at ICEL but I'm afraid we are years away from a better English translation making it down to local parishes. I don't know the process but I imagine that even after a new translation is approved it will take quite some time for new lectionaries to be printed, distributed and used.

Two points. First, the problems aren't only with the translation of the Novus Ordo. It's with the Latin original as well. The vernacular version is only slightly worse, building on an already Protestant foundation. In any case, the new Mass in Latin is nowhere to be found in the real world--except maybe on EWTN.

Second, the point Fr. Somerville was making was not to suggest SSPX deigns to recongize the Pope. It is to silence those who believe SSPXers are in "schism" because they do not recognize the Pope. This was never the case. It's refreshing to hear someone outside the movement admitting this.