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<h1 class="">Pope Francis Approves Mayan Mass, Opens Up Liturgy In Indigenous Languages Tzotzil And Tzeltal</h1>
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<span class="">01/07/2014 10:29 pm ET</span>
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<strong>Updated</strong>
Jan 25, 2014
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
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<p>The Catholic Church has <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/01/02/mayan_mass.html" target="_hplink">officially recognized </a>the
liturgy conducted in Mayan languages Tzotzil and Tzeltal, seven years
after the Diocese of San Cristobal led the call for the Vatican to
accept it. Pope Francis approved it in October 2013, and now mass and
important Catholic rituals like confession and baptism can be officially
conducted in the two indigenous languages.</p>
<p>This is of huge importance to the southern Mexican state of Chiapas,
where San Cristobal is located. 65% of the population of Chiapas is
native Maya, and most of those people speak little Spanish, though it is
the official language of the liturgy along with Latin.</p>
<p>The Right Reverend Enrique Diaz, auxiliary bishop for San Cristobal,<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25445819" target="_hplink"> told the BBC </a>that
he partly credits Pope Francis with making this landmark change.
"Undoubtedly Pope Francis has brought a fresh approach," he said. "Even
though there isn't such an indigenous presence in Argentina, he has
spent time with indigenous communities and understands us well." </p>
<p>Tzotzil and Tzeltal are spoken by an estimated 650,000 people, <a href="http://www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=34&ArticleID=22587" target="_hplink">reports Catholic News Service.</a></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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