Sandro Magister's indispensable website, Chiesa, has recently reported on the new Italian Lectionary for Sundays and Feasts and (this being Italy) the "contestazione" it has aroused.

With the liturgical lectionary that went into use last Advent, the Italian bishops' conference, CEI, intentionally adopted a "courageous initiative," not only for Italy, but for the entire Church. This is how the conference's secretary general, Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, describes it.Why "courageous"? Not because of the texts, which are obviously those of the Missal, but because of the images that accompany them.The proof of courage was that of having the new Lectionary illustrated by thirty contemporary artists, with their more or less abstract styles, instead of with the masterpieces of the figurative art of past centuries, as was done for example for the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In a recent post he has presented two opposing views of the artistic merits of the undertaking. It is interesting that the defender of the contemporary images is Monsignor Timothy Verdon, an American who serves in Florence and is an acknowledged expert on the painting of the Italian classical period. He boldly asserts:

The new lectionary of the CEI is situated within this tradition, but with an unexpected, even provocative emphasis on the contemporary that has in fact raised controversy. Unlike the other publications of the Church in Italy destined for universal use, which are typically adorned with reproductions of sacred art from the past, here there is only the present, as if the intention were to induce an up-to-date interpretation of the texts beside which the images are placed.This approach is significant on the ecclesial as well as the aesthetic level, because while the masterpieces of the history of art emphasize the historical character of Christianity itself as a system, the use of solely contemporary images implies the rejection of any historicism in favor of an a-systemic inspiration, unpredictable and potentially prophetic.The spectrum of stylistic approaches in the works chosen for the Lectionary further accentuates this impression of unpredictability, evoking the mercurial fluidity of creativity in its pure state, while the almost exclusive use of works created on paper (sketches and drawings, watercolors and prints) instead of the usual frescoes and altarpieces suggests a spiritual style without pretenses, humble in the presence of God who communicates himself in a gentle breeze instead of in the storm.

In contrast, Professor Pietro De Marco offers a negative, if nuanced, evaluation:

If, then, what seals the sacred nature of the object and opens it to the trust of the believer are the signs of sacred use, and in particular the accompaniment of images that recall and mediate within us the supremely real events that found and originate the faith, positive and grateful welcome must be extended to the rich iconographic addition to the three volumes of the new Lectionary, already well distinguished as liturgical books in their sober external typographical appearance and their page layout.In leafing through them, there is no doubt that they give the impression of a particular freshness, in comparison with the conventional accompanying illustrations, taken from both contemporary artists and the great pictorial tradition. Even in comparison with the recent habit of adorning Church books and spaces with reproductions of Russian icons or panels from the "primitive" 13th or 14th century, which can be cloying or lacking in significance.I am unable to point to any illustration in the new Lectionary as particularly "beautiful" (the art historians would prohibit me from using this adjective) or as completely adequate to its task. It will be necessary to review the illustrations at greater length. Some artistic results are appreciated after a certain time spent savoring them; in this case, including the liturgical usage of these Lectionaries.

I myself have not yet seen the new lectionary, much less made use of it, so I have no opinion of my own to venture about its quality or fruitfulness. However, in a cultural context that is both inundated and impoverished with images, I think a renewal of the Church's artistic patrimony is a crucial catechetical need.Pope Benedict, with his sensibility nourished on the great images of St. Augustine's homilies, recognizes this. He was, for example, responsible for the lovely images presented in the "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church'" and has mandated their inclusion in all translations of the Compendium.Images, in the Pope's view, are not "extra-curricular" to the Church's catechesis -- they are ingredient to the "curriculum."