The first question that arises is why the Pope directed the meetings to be conducted in Italian rather than in Latin, as is the usual practice.
...il Papa is clearly befuddled by Latin...should we expect otherwise...?
“The first question that arises is why the Pope directed the meetings to be conducted in Italian rather than in Latin, as is the usual practice”.
Well my thoughts to that are simple. Pope Francis is not a linguist like most popes before him. He probably has a limited knowledge of Latin. I have met Catholic priests that do not speak it. The only Latin they know is what’s required in the Liturgy. Before Vatican II all priests were required to be fluent in Latin. Francis speaks Italian and Spanish fluent, and the Synod is being held at the Vatican, not Barcelona. And it’s kind of hard to mis-translate Latin and cause confusion, which was probably part of the plan.