Pope John XXIII, the pope who initiated Vatican II, promulgated an encyclical "Veterum Sapientiae" which outlined the prime importance of LATIN for the Church. He listed the reasons why no other language could replace Latin, and he insisted that all seminary instruction must take place in Latin. That means that you can't enter the seminary until you already know Latin. We are friends with a young man in a diocesan seminary, and he will not even know such basic phrases as "Pater Noster" by the time he is ordained. Here is a link to the document:
Veterum Sapientia
Among other points, Pope John said:
Thus the "knowledge and use of this language," so intimately bound up with the Church's life, "is important not so much on cultural or literary grounds, as for religious reasons." These are the words of Our Predecessor Pius XI, who conducted a scientific inquiry into this whole subject, and indicated three qualities of the Latin language which harmonize to a remarkable degree with the Church's nature. "For the Church, precisely because it embraces all nations and is destined to endure to the end of time . . of its very nature requires a language which is universal, immutable, and non vernacular."
How many times do I have to state that I do indeed think Latin has a place in the liturgy, and that Latin has its use as the language of the Church?
SD