YouCat: lietuviškas jaunimo katekizmas

234 Aušra Rimkutė | YOUCAT: LITHUANIAN The Catechism of the Catholic Church Vilnius: Catholic World Publications, 2011, 306 p. AUŠRA RIMKUTė College of Medicine In 2011, the Lithuanian Catholic Youth Catechism (hereinafter YouCat) was of America published a catechism for young people, YouCat: a special and published by the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference. In 2000, the Catholic University perhaps the largest Christian publishing project, which, at the request of Pope John Paul II, was helped to realize by bishops from all over the world. The main task of the priests was to write the Catholic Church Catechism in a new, youthful language. The preparation of the Youth Catechism was led by Archbishop Christoph Schönborn of Vienna. YouCat (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church), published by the Austrian bishops, was prepared by more than 200 theologians and teachers of faith, priests and laity. They were helped by young people aged 16-26 – schoolchildren and students. The book has already been published in 25 languages, Teresėlė Danguolė Šniūrevičienė translated the catechism from German into Lithuanian. YouCat consists of a preface – a letter of Pope Benedict XVI to young people – and 4 parts of the catechism: 1. What we believe; 2. How we celebrate the Christian mysteries; 3. How we live in Christ; 4. How we should pray. At the end of the book there is a thematic index, indicating where to look for definitions of religious terms, what the catechism books of the Holy Scripture mean, the Universal 235Terminology | 2012 | 19 Abbreviations of documents from the Church’s meetings and other sources. The Youth Catechism is prepared, as is typical of catechisms, in the form of questions and answers (PR 2007: 472), but it differs from traditional and usual catechisms in that the margins are full of pictures, definitions of religious terms, thoughts of saints and teachers of faith, writers, philosophers, etc., various comments that should help young people better understand a specific question and the answer to it. In the preface to the Catechism for Youth, Pope Benedict XVI writes that “not only are continents and the cultures of their peoples different, but in every society there are distinct ‘continents’: a worker thinks differently than a peasant, a physicist thinks differently than a philologist, a businessman thinks differently than a journalist, a young man thinks differently than an old man. Therefore, our language and thinking had to rise a little above all those differences, we had to look for common ground, points of contact of different thinking. And it became clear to us that this text would have to be transferred to different worlds, as if translated into their language, so that by understanding people’s thinking we could answer their questions” (pp. 8–9). Comparing YouCat with the Catechism of the Catholic Church published in 1997, there are differences in terms, for example, the Catechism for Youth distinguishes the gifts of the Holy Spirit as wisdom, understanding, counsel, firmness, knowledge, piety, fear of God (p. 176), whereas the Catechism of the Catholic Church does not distinguish knowledge but knowing (CCC 1997: 388). The Catechism published in 2011 mentions such great sins as pride, greed, lasciviousness, anger, jealousy, excess of moderation, laziness and complete indifference (p. 179), while the Catechism of the Catholic Church uses not the term excess of moderation but excess of eating and drinking (CCC 1997: 392). The fruits of the Holy Spirit are also differently named. YouCat writes that the fruits of the Holy Spirit are 9: love, joy, peace, patience, the Catechism of malonumas, gerumas, ištikimybė, romumas, susivaldymas (p. 76). Katalikų the Church states that there are 12: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, love, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity (p. 387). These differences show that the content and scope of some concepts of religion are not settled even in the beginning of the 21st century, and there is no agreement about them. The Youth Catechism uses the verb noun of the suffix -imas nukritimas (p. 49), it is not used in the Catholic Church Catechism – the term frompolis is used (CCC 1997: 27). We do not find this term in the Religijotyros žodynas (RŽ 1991). 236 Aušra Rimkutė | In the reviewed dictionary, the combinations with the word faith are particularly varied, cf. faith in the Mother of God (p. 57), faith in God the Father (p. 29), faith in Jesus Christ (p. 69) and faith in the Holy Trinity (p. 29)1, etc. These inequalities, apparently, arose because of the two variants used in the language – I believe in God and I believe in God. In the YouCat Catechism we also find both final compounds and compounds with the prefix to: to believe in Him [God] (p. 25), to believe in God (p. 26), I believe in the Church (p. 30), we believe in one God (p. 33) and I believe in God the Father (p. 13, 31), I believe in God the Father almighty (p. 29), I believe in Jesus Christ (p. 13, 51), I believe in the Holy Spirit (p. 13, 29, 30, 73), we believe in one God (p. 30, 33), to believe in the Creator (p. 37), baptized believe in God (p. 28), etc. It has been disputed for more than a century which form should be used, or both. In 1909, the first commission for the correction of the Poterių language – Fr. Juozas Laukaitis, Fr. Alfonsas Petrulis, Fr. Aleksandras Dambrauskas (Adamas Jakštas) – together with the expert linguists Kazimieras Būga, Juozas Balčikonis, Jonas Jablonskis, Jurgis Šlapelis also discussed this issue. Linguists suggested to do without the prefix in, because it is not derived from the Latin credo in Deum2 in the Latin original, but from the influence of the Polish language3. However, the Pottery language revision commission, seeking a compromise with the old clergy, decided to keep the word combinations with the prefix in (PMT 1909: 19, PP 1909: 109). According to Father Vaclovas Aliulis, “since the beginning of the 20th century, prominent Lithuanian linguists have repeatedly expressed disapproval of the form believe in what, considering it to be the influence of neighboring Slavs. The Poles, without the slightest object difference, have: Ja wierzę tylko w Pana Boga, a ty w każde głupstwo wierzysz (literally: I believe only in the Lord God, and you believe in every foolishness). In the Church Slavic language vieriju v is used for all sacred things without distinction, while in the living Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages vieriu / vieriu v and so on is used for both sacred things and banalities. Not seeing in Lithuanian usage a consistent difference in meaning between believe in what and believe what, the fathers of our modern common language decided to consider the form without prefix authentic and demanded the use of believe God, but not believe in God” (Aliulis 2000: 47–49; 2008). 1 J. Klimavičius in the article The Language of Catechism – Catechism of Language briefly discusses the use of the verb believe and the abstract faith in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Klimavičius 2002: 108–109). 2 The prefix in in Latin probably originated from a translation from Greek, and in the latter language from Hebrew (Aramaic) (Zinkevičius 2000: 36). 3 For more information on the Potters Language Revision Commission, see Zinkevičius 2000: 176–189; Rimkutė 2006: 154–155. 237Terminologija | 2012 | 19 Another controversial issue is the use of the term. The linguist Jonas Klimavičius in his article Auka, apiera, atnaša: istorijos ir vartosenos bruožai writes that the term atnaša is “a comparative substitute of the Polish (although of Latin origin) apiera (although it has appeared already in the presence of the offering), but it is inaccurate and even defective: from the Latin offero, obtuli, oblatum, offere “to carry in front; protruding forward; unlocked; “show” jumps down to “bring” – the paronym affero, attuli, allatum, affere” (Klimavičius 2005: 44, cf. Klimavičius 2002: 109). Therefore, the following terms should be corrected: offering (=sacrifice) (p. 126, 127), holy offering (=sacrifice) (p. 127), offering (=sacrifice) prayer (p. 127), offering of bread and wine (=sacrifice) (p. 127), preparation of offerings (=sacrifices) (p. 176). In total, the catechism contains more than 100 definitions of terms. Not only religious terms are defined, but also terms from psychology, politics, medicine, sociology and other fields that are needed to explain the basic truths of faith. This is very commendable, because it facilitates the reading of the catechism. Terms are highlighted in bold to make them easier to find. Unfortunately, not all of the definitions are clear, concise and understandable, especially for younger readers. Another definition could be clarified, for example, the term spirituality (from Latin spiritualitas, “spirit”): forms of Church piety derived from the practice of life imbued with the Holy Spirit of various saints, such as Benedictine, Franciscan or Dominican spirituality (p. 273). The term spirituality should be defined primarily as a certain characteristic of the believer, not a form or forms of piety. It would also be possible to clarify the definition of the term parousia (Greek: parousia “personal participation”): the coming of Christ during the Last Judgment (p. 72), since this term is used only in the New Testament and in early Christian literature (RZ 1991: 284). Confusing definition of creationism (Latin creatio "creation"): the understanding (better concept - aut. past.), that God created the Earth immediately by direct action, as if the Book of Genesis was a protocol of events and facts of Creation (p. 37), cf. creationism: the concept that claims that God created the world (VaitkTŽZ 2003). Somewhat strange is the explanation of what is a catechumen (Greek kat’echein “to teach”): even in the ancient Church, those who wished to receive adult Baptism – catechumens – passed through three stages of preparation – catechumenate – teaching of the truths of faith accompanied by the liturgy of the Word (p. 117). Confirmation (from the Latin word confirmatio, “confirmation, confirmation”) is described very broadly: like the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, Confirmation is the sacrament of Baptism of the Catholic Church. 238 As the Spirit descended on the community of the disciples, so He comes to every baptized person who asks the Church for the grace of the Holy Spirit and strengthens him so that he can bear witness to Christ in his life (p. 120). Incorrectly named, what is the Tabernacle (Latin tabernaculum "house, tent"): analogous to the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle appeared in the Catholic Church as an honourable, exalted place to keep the Most Holy Sacrament (Christ in the form of bread) (p. 131). The dictionary of religious studies states that this is a Catholic church device – a cupboard in the middle of the altar (usually the great) to store the Blessed Sacrament (RŽ 1991: 371). This definition is much clearer. The definition of the term exorcism (from the Greek exorcismos, “to drive away”) should be clarified: a prayer that protects or delivers a person from the evil (p. 156). Exorcism is not a prayer, it is a ritual to drive out evil spirits (RZ 1991: 111). As can be seen from the presented terms and their definitions, not all definitions describe the essence of the term, not all are logical, clear and understandable. The catechism’s authors took on the difficult task of explaining the origin, and sometimes the meaning, of international words and borrowings. It is unfortunate that the origin of international terms of religion is described inconsistently, for example, the origin of the international term religion (p. 15) derived from the Latin language is not explained, but the origin of the terms mission (Latin missio "mission") (p. 18), parousia (Greek parousia "personal participation") (p. 72) and others is explained. The reader of the Catechism may be confused when the origin of the term is discussed more than once, for example, the old loaner's church. In one place it says: “The Church (Greek: ekklesia) is the called” (p. 77), in another: “The Church (Greek: kyriake – belonging to the Lord, ancient Slavic: boznica – prayer house) is the called (Greek: ex kaleo, ekklesia) from all nations and belonging through Baptism to the Body of Christ” (p. 77). Other inaccuracies were also noticed during reading, such as the variation of nominative and non-nomenative forms: eternal life (p. 48) and eternal life (p. 94) (= eternal life); The Last Judgment (p. 72) and The Last Judgment (p. 42, 98) (=The Last Judgment); in some places a noun form would be needed, e.g. cardinal virtues (p. 173), cf. divine virtues (p. 172), human virtues (p. 172), mortal sin (p. 178). The same thing is referred to in different ways, e.g. : The Immaculate Conception of Mary (p. 57), The Immaculate Conception (p. 57) and The Immaculate Conception (p. 57) (=The Immaculate Conception of St. Mary); The Last Supper (p. 115), The Last Supper (p. 124) and The Supper (p. 124) (=The Last Supper). Suggested to use the noble form, not the suffix -inis 239Terminology | 2012 | 19 adjectives, e.g.: easter (=Easter) Lamb (p. 64), cf. The Easter Lamb (p. 105). The following word order is not typical of Lithuanian: Preface of Pope Benedict XVI (=Preface of Pope Benedict XVI) (p. 3). In addition to all the above mentioned inaccuracies, proofreading errors were also noted: Laškas (=LaišThe traditions of publishing Catholic catechisms in Lithuanian kas)efeziečiams(p. 23), Hiteriui(=Hitleriui)(p. 69). date back to the end of the 16th century – the first catechism for Catholics in Greater Lithuania was prepared by Mikalojus Daukša (1595, Vilnius). To this day, for more than five and a half centuries, catechisms are translated from Latin, Polish, German or other languages into our native language. As already mentioned, YouCat is translated from German. It is regrettable that the translator had hardly any references – although there are published dictionaries of religious terms, e.g. : Dictionary of Religious Studies (1991), Česlovas Kavaliauskas’s Short Dictionary of Theology (1992), Dictionary of Christian Iconography (1997), Gintaras Beresnevičius’s Dictionary of Religious Studies: Basic Concepts (2003), Herbert Vorgrimler’s New Dictionary of Theology (2003)4, but they are not enough, dictionaries need to be updated, some concepts are interpreted atheistically, they do not have equivalents in other languages, etc. “You must constantly purify your language and remove everything that is imperfect from it,” says YouCat: Lithuanian Youth Catechism (p. 16). This also applies to the language of the believers, which must not only be understood by all – young and old – but also be understood equally. The remarks made and the minor flaws noted, which in no way diminish the diligent work of the translator, were intended to show that there are still things to be improved, that the language of the believers, as well as the terminology with which they communicate linguistically with God, must be free of “daily rubbish and sins” (Maceina 1982: 129). LItERatŪRa Aliulis V. 2000: Tikėti ką, tikėti į ką?–Sandora3, 47–49. Aliulis V. 2008: Tikėjimoišpažinimas:„tikėtiDievą“ir„tikėtiįDievą“? Prieiga per internetą: www.vlkk.lt/lit/ naujienos/naujiena.1092.html. Beresnevičius G. Religijotyrosžodynas: pagrindinėssąvokos. Vilnius: Tyto alba, 2003. Kavaliauskas Č. Trumpasteologijosžodynas. Vilnius: Logos knyga, 1992. KBK 1997: KatalikųBažnyčioskatekizmas.Kaunas: LKB Tarpdiecezinė katechetikos komisijos leidykla. Klimavičius J. 2002: Katekizmo kalba – kalbos katekizmas. – Kalboskultūra75, 105–119. Klimavičius J. 2005: Leksikologijosirterminologijosdarbai:normairistorija. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos instituto leidykla. Krikščioniškosiosikonografijosžodynas. Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademijos leidykla, 1997. 4 Iš vokiečių kalbos išvertė Gediminas Žukas. 240 Aušra Rimkutė | Maceina A. 1982: Iš minties pasaulio. – Aidai 2, 128–132. PP 1909: Corrected pots. – Handbook 14, 107–129. PMT 1909: Toward the Correction of Prayers.—Guide 9:17–37. PR 2007: World religions: a new popular guide. Vilnius: Alma littera. Rimkutė A. 2006: Terminology of Religion in the Society. – Terminologija 13, 149–159. 1991. Dictionary of Religion. South. R. Petraitis. Vilnius: Mintis. The Holy Scriptures: The New and Old Testaments. New York: The Catholic World Publications, 2009. 2003: The International Dictionary of Languages. Vilnius: Fotonija (e. edition). Vorgrimler H. New Dictionary of Theology. New York: Catholic Internet Service, 2003. Zinkevičius Z. 2000: Lithuanian Poetry: A Study of Linguistics. Vilnius: Institute of Science and Encyclopedia Publishing. Retrieved 2012-11-04 Aušra Rimkutė College of Medicine 29, LT-87356 Telšiai, Lithuania E-mail ausra.r[email protected]