Bishops for keeping intact prayer service spirit

PATNA: Bishops of the Hindi-speaking states of the country have underlined the need to keep intact the spirit and sentiments of the Latin prayer service in its Hindi translation.
The Bishops expressed these views at a three-day conference of Bishops of north India states of India that concluded here on Wednesday. Patna Archbishop William D'Souza, who presided over the conference, said a 12-member committee of five Bishops and seven scholars was doing research on the Hindi translation of the text of the Mass Vigil (prayer service) for the last one year."The Bishops during the conference told the committee members about their expectations from the fresh draft and the committee is expected to finish the work in a year," the Archbishop said.
The current text of the Hindi Mass Vigil is the translation of the older edition of ?Roman Missal', which was approved at the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s. The ?Roman Missal' is a book that contains the prescribed prayers, chants and instructions for the celebration of Mass at Catholic Church. "The translation should have the spirit of the Latin words intact and the translation committee members were given guidelines for the same," he said.
Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, five Archbishops and 30 Bishops attended the conference and discussed their common concerns. They also deliberated on measures to better serve the Catholic community in the region. There are altogether 48 Bishops in the Hindi-speaking states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
It was decided at the conference that the Bishops would provide financial support for the publication of ?Buland Prajatantra', which highlights the Church's views on various issues of importance. "Our aim is to make the fortnightly publication a voice of the people," D'Souza said.
In a first of its kind event, a prayer service was also offered by the visiting Bishops at the Queen of the Apostles Church at Kurji on Wednesday morning. "Over a thousand Catholic students from various schools in the city received blessings from the clergymen," D'Souza said adding the theme of the prayer service was ?You are precious' and the children were encouraged to imbibe virtues of forgiveness and respect for others.