Pontifical Academy for Latin established by Benedict XVI

You will all be pleased to know that the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio establishing the Pontifical Academy for Latin. The name of the Motu Proprio is, amazingly enough, Latina lingua! No!  Really!

The new Academy will be under the aegis of the Pontifical Council for Culture, of which Cardinal Ravasi is the President.

The “Latinitas” Foundation is also suppressed.

I noted with interest the line in the Motu Proprio:

3. In hodierno tamen cultu, humanarum litterarum extenuatis studiis, periculum adest levioris linguae Latinae cognitionis, quae in curriculis philosophicis theologicisque futurorum presbyterorum quoque animadvertitur.

D’ya think?

Whose, I wonder, fault is that?

It is good that there is a new structure to advance Latin.  Let’s see if anything concrete happens.

Let’s start with the observance of CIC 1983 can. 249

Institutionis sacerdotalis Ratione provideatur ut alumni non tantum accurate linguam patriam edoceantur, sed etiam linguam latinam bene calleant necnon congruam habeant cognitionem alienarum linguarum, quarum scientia ad eorum formationem aut ad ministerium pastorale exercendum necessaria vel utilis videatur.

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18 Comments

  1. acardnal says:

    Deo gratias

  2. PhilipNeri says:

    Prediction: this move by the Holy Father will be politely ignored in the U.S. for at least 15 yrs. So long as the Baby Boomers are in charge of seminary/religious formation, Latin will not be required or even encouraged.

    Fr. Philip Neri, OP

  3. Andrew says:

    Art. II par. 1 b) … to promote the use of Latin in writing and in speaking.

    !!!!!!!

  4. acardnal says:

    But Fr. Neri, the Holy Father recently made some changes in the Curia and placed seminaries under the Congregation for the Clergy instead of Education so . . . . hopefully, thinks will change accordingly in the US seminaries. Just being optimistic!

  5. Hidden One says:

    Fr. Philip Neri, I would prefer to look at this as a great opportunity for American episcopal supporters of the Latin tongue to plug the study of Latin (and as a trigger for them to publicly order all of their seminarians to learn it…)

  6. Google translate says the first quoted paragraph is:

    Yet in today’s culture, literature rarefication human studies, there is a lesser risk of Latin knowledge in the course of philosophical theologicisque future presbyters also noticed.

    and (much better), the second:

    Program of priestly formation is to provide that the students are not only taught their native language accurately, but also well versed in latin, as well as have a suitable knowledge of foreign languages??, of which to the knowledge of their formation or for the exercise of pastoral ministry seem necessary or useful.

  7. PhilipNeri says:

    Acardnal, if the Baby Boomers in charge don’t want to do something that Rome wants them to do, they can find a thousand different ways to “read” the relevant texts/orders/canons to get their way. Trust me. I’ve seen it too many times to count. A favorite tactic in my seminary days was the ever-elastic “local conditions” clause that allowed them to do whatever they wanted.

    Fr. Philip Neri, OP

  8. servulus indignus Christi says:

    “Ut provehat…usum….sive scribendo sive LOQUENDO” Omnes sodales Familiae Sancti Hieronymi http://www.hieronymus.us.com/ exsultent! Gratias medullitus agimus Deo nostro vicarioque ejus Papae nostro Benedicto!

  9. Joe in Canada says:

    Hála isten!

  10. servulus indignus Christi says:

    @ Fr. PhilipNeri

    Elasticity bingo! I live in one of the tepid “do-nothing” dioceses of the Midwest where our local lay-led chapter of “provehendas-nugas” (aka diocesan department for continuing education), which for some reason has seemingly unlimited power, offers all sorts of wacky “faith formation” courses. I figured then in the current choking climate of “let’s celebrate everyone’s gifts and talents” that is so prevalent, I would offer to teach a Latin course. I was told that they would look into whether local circumstances merited such a course at this time and was summarily ignored of course. Never mind the fact that Church law can. 249 requires priests to know Latin well, never mind that Veterum Sapientia is as clear as can be and as a “constitution” has the force of law in the Church, never mind two millenia of tradition, never mind the exhortations of many popes and saints concerning the universal language of the universal Church… with “our local circumstances” we just don’t foresee any need for Latin!

  11. wmeyer says:

    Fr. Philip Neri, I have left a parish in which the DRE is much enamored of Fr. Richard Rohr, and favors ordination of women. She and her cohorts also teach, among other things, that Christ perhaps did not know what was coming as he came to his passion. I have written to the Ordinary, and received no reply. They are very much “Spirit of Vatican II”, and many of the 90 (yes 90) ministries in the parish are in the hands of such modernists. From my observation, they do not even offer an excuse, they just forge ahead, on their own path. The DRE was also given to criticizing and demeaning the last pastor, in front of other parish members.

  12. PhilipNeri says:

    Servulus, Wmeyer. . .color me unsurprised. Anything but the apostolic faith. Trust me: it’s even worse in some religious orders.

    Fr. Philip Neri, OP

  13. Gregorius says:

    My bet is they’ll probably translate this motu proprio into Hungarian, and maybe Spanish if we’re lucky… if that’s the case, with all the emphasis the US bishops are putting on Spanish, they won’t have the excuse of being unable to read the document!

  14. Norah says:

    wmeyer, if you kept a copy of the letter you sent to the Ordinary send it to the appropriate office in Rome or maybe the nuncio in the USA together with your elaboration on the situation.

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  16. Dr. Edward Peters says:

    Hac in re, venio ex Missouri.

  17. Patruus says:

    Latin news report of the Academy –
    http://ephemeris.alcuinus.net/nuntius.php?id=823

  18. Charles E Flynn says:

    I had not known that Pope Benedict XVI is a member of L’Académie française:

    The New Pontifical Academy for Latin, by Tracey Rowland, at The Catholic Thing.

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