Why doesn't your site make the entire new translation available?

For copyright information about the new translation, please visit here.

The original intention was to post on this website the entire new translation, for study purposes. However, ICEL has requested that people not do this yet. At this time, we have been unable to ascertain the reason for ICEL's request, but we are nonetheless complying. The entire text is currently posted on numerous websites, including this one.

However, we promise that as soon as ICEL gives the "green light," we will post the entire new translation.

In the meantime, those who intend to follow the Vatican's decrees will have to be content with "fair use."

On 23 June, 2008, Rome gave an order to priests, religious, composers, and liturgists:

The Congregation does not intend that these texts should be put into liturgical use immediately. Instead, the granting now of the recognitio to this crucial segment of the Roman Missal will provide time for the pastoral preparation of priests, deacons and for appropriate catechesis of the lay faithful. It will likewise facilitate the devising of musical settings for the parts of the Mass, bearing in mind the criteria set forth in the Instruction Liturgiam Authenticam, n. 60, which requires that the musical settings of liturigcal texts use only the actual approved texts and never be paraphrased (citation).

The above statement is the reason for this website.

What is "fair use" and how does it apply to the new translation of the Gloria?

Fair use does not simply mean that one can reproduce any text, so long as it is given away for free. There are four criterion that need to be met.

In particular, let us consider the Gloria text:

First of all, this text is already being reproduced on hundreds of websites. A Google search for this text revealed more than 450 sites which reproduce the new text.

More importantly, however, the only original part of the new Gloria translation (in other words, the only part that is not already in the public domain) is the word "people" in this sentence: "and peace on earth to people of good will." Some have argued that changing the various public domain versions by a single word does not constitute a "copyrightable change," but I have not found conclusive proof one way or the other.

As stated, the rest of the "new Gloria translation" was lifted from public domain sources such as this one, and especially the current ICET/ELLC/ICEL translation.

Whether or not that original word ("people") causes the text to be copyrightable, composers can use the Gloria text under "fair use" guidelines (after the recognitio, the entire Missal can be set and distributed for free according to ICEL).

"Fair use" (generally speaking) allows scholars to reprint up to 10% of a work, as long as it is distributed for free.

The new translation is 9,642 words. The new Gloria translation is only 127 words, which is .013% of the translation and (hence) definitely falls under fair use.

[ Furthermore, if you consider the only non-public domain sentence of the Gloria (the one with "people" in it), that is only .0015% of the new translation. ]

Furthermore, because these scores are being shared freely, for educational purposes (in answer to the Vatican's request, above), our use is definitely within the fair use guidelines.

By the way, the Kyrie and Agnus Dei texts in English were not altered by the new translation, so the new ICEL rules still apply, which say that ICEL texts can be reproduced online for non-commercial use. Furthermore, all the old ICEL Mass texts are now officially public domain, thanks to ICET/ELLC (and publicly acknowledged by ICEL in August 2008).