Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan says American bishops should keep asking the Vatican for approval of liturgical changes even if the first request is turned down.

“If we don’t get it this time, I think we should ask again and we should keep asking,” the archbishop said in an interview with National Catholic Reporter while attending a liturgy -- music conference at Kansas City.

The archbishop, newly elected chairman of the U.S. Bishops liturgical commission, said he did not know when action would be taken on a request for 13 changes, including supplementary Bible readings at Mass, an English canon and controlled experimentation.

Archbishop Hallinan said he has repeated requests, if necessary, because he has always taken seriously Christ’s words that “he who asks shall receive.” “Ours is a very representative part of the Church universal,” he said. “It is one of the largest hierarchies, one of the largest groups of Catholic people. And I think that our wishes, our own frame of mind, should be given credence, should be given voice. And we should be able to ask questions and get an answer.” The archbishop was secretary of the U.S. bishops’ liturgical commission until elected chairman. He was a member of the Vatican Council’s liturgical commission and is a member of the postconciliar liturgical commission. He is serving on a 10-bishop committee that is working on a common English Mass text for 10 countries.

In an unscheduled talk, the archbishop said there is a widespread feeling among the bishops of sympathy and sensitivity on experimentation “toward those who honestly are trying to work in the spirit of the Constitution (on the Liturgy).” However, he deplored unauthorized experimentation, saying, “This type of thing, the innovations -- the Mogen David bottle of wine and a loaf of bread -- that approach to this whole thing is, of course, extremely immature. It mistakes what an experiment is. An experiment is a step toward learning. Therefore, it must be controlled and the results forwarded so they can be synthesized.”