Q: I receive frequent criticism of publications in our parish related to liturgy because they do not contain “reverential pronouns.” While I am aware of the tradition of capitalizing divine pronouns, I have always avoided doing so for subjective reasons, namely that I find the consistent application of such a convention to be a slippery slope into hyper-piety and preciousness. Objectively, I note that reverential pronouns are not used in the English ritual books nor in the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Given your vast experience with ICEL, can you shed any light on the history of the stylistic practice in the current liturgical texts? When pointing out the consistent style in the official liturgical books and Catechism, a colleague commented, “Boy, I’m glad I wasn’t the person responsible for abandoning the practice of capitalizing divine pronouns!” I am, too, but I take a lot of heat for avoiding it. Thanks for any insight or encouragement you can offer.
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A: I’ve heard a couple of reasons at ICEL meetings. One is the way that capitals would take over quite of bit of the text, making it harder to read. The other is the fear of missing some—it’s difficult for an editor to be thorough on these. More significantly, though, is that the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments authored a ratio translationis that governs capital letters in the English-language liturgical texts, and that document does not ask for capitals on divine pronouns.
I think all of this is wise. In my view, the pronouns represent the divine names, but they are not the divine names.