New Vatican Bid to Boost Use of Latin

Catholic World News ^ | May 13, 2003

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Vatican, May. 13 (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II has set up a new Vatican commission to restore Latin to its proper place in the Roman Church.

The new initiative has captured the attention of traditionalist Catholics. It comes at a time when Vatican officials are showing a keen interest in achieving a full reconciliation with traditionalist groups such as the schismatic Society of St. Pius X.

On May 24, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos will celebrate Mass in the basilica of St. Mary Major, using the Tridentine rite-- the ritual that was the universal form of the Latin liturgy prior to the Second Vatican Council. The announcement of that Mass-- the first Mass to be celebrated by a Roman prelate in the Tridentine rite since 1970-- sparked a series of reports of progress in negotiations between the Vatican and traditionalist groups.

Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, has been given the charge of heading the new commission. Cardinal Grocholewski, according to Vatican insiders, is more fluent in Latin than in his native Polish.

In February 2002, Pope John Paul II strongly recommended the study of Latin in seminaries and the use of the traditional language in the liturgy. The Pope said that "the love of that language should grow every stronger among candidates for the priesthood."

Pope John Paul made that statement in a message marking the 40th anniversary of the apostolic constitution Veterum Sapientia of Pope John XXIII. In that document, Blessed John XXIII confirmed the role of Latin as the official language of the Church, and spoke of the ancient language as "a patrimony that belongs to human civilization." In his 2002 remarks, Pope John Paul added: "that patrimony furnishes an indispensable condition for the proper relationship between modernity and antiquity, for the dialogue among different cultures, and for restoring the identity of the Catholic priesthood."

At the Vatican, an agency known as the Fondation Latinitas is concerned solely with the translation of documents into Latin, or from Latin into other languages. That bureau was founded in 1976 by Pope Paul VI with the objective of encouraging Latin scholarship. But in fact, the number of qualified Latinists within the Church has steadily declined. Latin remains the official language of the Vatican. Officials there use their own peculiar Latin dictionary, which contains not only ecclesiastical terms but also new words that have come into popular use since the decline of Latin as a popular tongue.

[Salvation]

I really don't think this will happen, do you?

[sinkspur]

I really don't think this will happen, do you?

No. There will be a document or two and a request to offer the Latin Mass more universally, and that will be it.

The Church is not going back to a Latin liturgy.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Well, it's happening as we type. I don't think Rome will outright abolish the N.O. as they did with the Tridentine 30-40 years ago. That upset everyone too much. This time I believe they will restore the Traditional Mass, encourage its use, and perhaps phase out the N.O. over time, either naturally or by design. It all depends on what a person is used to. If children grow up with the Tridentine it will be the normative Mass for them. Likewise, I grew up with the N.O., but I'm anxious to return to Traditional forms of liturgy. For me, the Latin is only a small part. I simply like the structure of the Traditional Mass better. I would guess that language-wise the Tridentine will not be entirely Latin, just the prayers of the Mass. It wouldn't be practical otherwise.

Time will tell.