Vatican Says No 'Yahweh' In Songs, Prayers At Catholic Masses

The Vatican has reiterated a directive that the name of God revealed in the tetragrammaton YHWH is not to be pronounced in Catholic liturgy or in music. Catholics at worship should neither sing nor pronounce the name of God as "Yahweh," the Vatican has said, citing the authority of Jewish and Christian practice.

The instruction came in a June 29 letter to Catholic bishops conferences around the world from the Vatican's top liturgical body, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, by an explicit "directive" of Pope Benedict XVI. "In recent years, the practice has crept in of pronouncing the God of Israel's proper name," the letter noted, referring to the four-consonant Hebrew Tetragrammaton, YHWH.

That name is commonly pronounced as "Yahweh," though other versions include "Jaweh" and "Yehovah."

But such pronunciation violates long-standing Jewish tradition, the Vatican reminded bishops.

"As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, (the name) was held to be unpronounceable and hence was replaced during the reading of sacred Scripture by means of the use of an alternate name: �Adonai,' which means �Lord,'" the Congregation said.

That practice continued with Christianity, the letter explained, recalling the "church's tradition, from the beginning, that the sacred Tetragrammaton was never pronounced in the Christian context nor translated into any of the languages into which the Bible was translated."

Invoking a Vatican document from 2001, the Congregation reminded bishops that the name "Yahweh" in Catholic worship should be replaced by the Latin "Dominus" (Lord) or a word "equivalent in meaning" in the local language.

The Vatican's move will require changes in a number of hymns and prayers currently used in American churches, but not to the Mass itself, said the U.S. bishops' top liturgical official.

I just want to add my two cents by making a couple of points:

First of all, any directive handed down by the Vatican/Pope is a directive from Heaven. We as Catholics are bound to obey the laws of our Church as well as respect them and those within the hierarchy of the Church who deliver them from Heaven.

As for God's "name" when asked Who He was, His answer was, "I Am Who Am". I take this to mean that I am your Father and you address Me as such. This would be the same thing as calling your parents "Mom" and "Dad" not "Sue and "Bob". It's out of reverence and respect for the higher authority.

Thank you and God Bless you all! :)

Cee Dee | 7/5/2009

We are talking about the English translation of the name of God, therefore if the English translation of Christ is Jesus then the English translation of the tetragrammaton is Jehovah. That is the fact when it comes to the English language, of course this would not be the same as the original pronunciation but that has been lost over centuries.

Michael | 7/3/2009

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