Catholic Bible Translations is Translations of the canonical Scriptures prepared or approved for Catholic study, prayer, catechesis, and liturgical proclamation.
Translation and approval
Dei Verbum calls for suitable and accurate translations, preferably from the original texts. In the Latin Church, canon 825 entrusts approval of vernacular editions to the Apostolic See or the competent conference of bishops, with appropriate annotations where required.[1]
Ecclesiastical approval attests suitability for Catholic use; it does not declare one translation verbally perfect or make every study note an act of the Magisterium. Translation choices legitimately vary between formal correspondence, readable idiom, public proclamation, and specialist study.
Study and liturgy
A translation approved for private study is not automatically the edition authorized in a country's liturgy. Lectionaries follow separate approval and confirmation processes, and different episcopal conferences use different English translations or adaptations.[2]
There is consequently no single worldwide official English Catholic Bible. The Nova Vulgata is the official Latin typical edition, while approved vernacular translations remain genuine translations of Scripture rather than mere paraphrases of that Latin text.
References
- 1.Translation of Scripture Text — USCCB explanation of canonical review and approval under canon 825
- 2.USCCB Approved Translations — Current official list and explanation of approval for Catholic private use and study in the United States