Q: Say the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales wanted a lectionary as recommended in the 1981 Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, n. 113: “The ancient custom is recommended of having separate books, one for the Gospels and the other for the readings of the Old and New Testament.” There would then be a Book of the Gospels for every day of the year, able to be placed on the altar, which is described as praiseworthy in GIRM 122 and 173. Would Vatican approval be required for this? Would the approval for the published 2024 Lectionary, which combined the Gospels and readings of the Old and New Testament, enable a volume (or volumes) without Gospels?
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A: I understand that all liturgical books get a review by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. That said, I can’t imagine that the Dicastery would object to a conference of bishops deciding how to implement ILM 113 within its parameters.