In today’s Bollettino we are informed that the new Regolamento Generale della Curia Romana (General Regulations of the Roman Curia) is out.
Toward the end we find…
Titolo XIII
LINGUE IN USO
Art. 50
§1. Le Istituzioni curiali redigeranno di regola i loro atti nella lingua latina o in altra lingua.
§2. È costituito presso la Segreteria di Stato un ufficio per la lingua latina, a servizio della Curia Romana.
§3. Si avrà cura che i principali documenti destinati alla pubblicazione siano tradotti nelle lingue oggi più diffuse.
or
Title XIII
LANGUAGES IN USE
Art. 50
§1. Curial institutions shall, as a rule, draft their acts in Latin or another language.
§2. A Latin Office shall be established within the Secretariat of State, at the service of the Roman Curia.
§3. Care shall be taken to ensure that the principal documents intended for publication are translated into the languages ??most widely used today.
It is good that a “Latin Office” shall be established, given that it is still the official language of the Roman Curia. You wouldn’t know that from recent documents, however, including the newly released Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei on the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. You can read it in Arabic, but not in Latin … beyond the title.
Canon 928 says that Mass is to be celebrated “either in the Latin language or in another language, provided that the liturgical texts have been lawfully approved.” Latin is given precedence.
Also, can. 249, requires – it doesn’t suggest or recommend or propose, but requires – that seminarians be “very well skilled” in the Latin language:
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.
NB, calleo is already “well versed/skilled”. Then bene calleant is “let them be very well versed/skilled”. Calleo is “to be practiced, to be wise by experience, to be skillful, versed in” or “to know by experience or practice, to know, have the knowledge of, understand”. We get the word “callused” from calleo. We develop calluses when we do something repeatedly.
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§1. seems to contradict itself at the end. If acts can also be drafted “in another language” rather than Latin (well they have to be in some language) then Latin is not necessarily the default or preferred option “as a rule”. It might have sent a clearer signal too if this edict had been given in Latin.
I thought that a Latin Office already exists; is that not where Fr. Reginald Foster worked?
Nolite conscribere in lingua vulgare et postquam in latinam transferre: hic mos valde est malus. Latine cogitate! Patres Latinos semper legete, et eos ad populares linguos redite. Via moderna est vacua, sine sapore, pessima.
Aegyptiorum sacerdotum verba audite: “Graeci semper iuvenes sunt.” Nolite sic esse, traditionem custodite!
My immediate reaction to this: “Curial institutions shall, as a rule, draft their acts in Latin or another language.“ was to wonder if they needed to somehow rule out telepathy or the assumption that the spirit of Vatican II can be relied on to transmit all necessary rules and regulations.
This is interesting to me. In my professional life, I draft lots of policy language, always in English. But a draft is just that… a draft. It is not the final promulgated document.
I’m going to read into this broadly and with charity…
1. The drafts, are to be in Latin or the “competent” language of the drafter.
2. The draft will then be translated into Latin for approval and promulgation.
3. The promulgated document will then be translated into the various “popular” languages for broader publication.
I wonder/hope if/that this is a way to steer away from the Bergoglian concept of the Papacy as primarily the “Bishop of Rome” where Italian seemed to rule the roost.
Early on, Leo commented that he was working through the habit of over scheduling things, making him late…
Maybe moving back to Romanitas?
One more thing to add… Recent Curial changes/promotions… Just some stats… These are now the adults in the room… If I had to guess, these are not your dyed in the wool, seven string strumming wonders, who like to wear saddle blankets as chasubles…
Born Age Ordination Year
Barlas 1985 40 2010
Ekpo 1981 44 2011
Blaj 1978 47 2004
Pacho 1974 51 2000
Dalong 1977 48 2005
Maybe important documents, like encyclicals and apostolic exhortations, should be written in longhand, without aid of word processors. Maybe then they will be as brief and concise as they used to be. Hardly anyone today can be bothered to read the bloated and poorly written documents that are inflicted on the faithful these days, especially those promulgated during the previous pontificate.
@EAW – I second your idea. If they want to write these long, bloated, and often pedantic letters at us, they should at least be forced to suffer some good old fashioned writer’s cramp.
We should treat this how certain US bishops are treating altar rails. They say that the norm in the US is standing unless a member of the faithful decides to receive kneeling. Therefore, we should not have rails or kneelers that “pressure” people to receive kneeling.
In a similar way, the curia should still compose documents in Latin, since that is the norm, and they should not feel undue pressure to draft documents in the vernacular.
Chicagiensis_etc:
One thing that a late colleague of mine (who was an expert on immigration to Latin America) told me that people were missing about Pope Frances was that he grew up in a home that spoke a dialect of Italian. Because of this, I suspect he was very comfortable with the Italian language, but seemed uncomfortable with Latin. Unfortunately, I don’t remember why he thought this was important, maybe he meant this gave him support among Italian cardinals.
@EAW Yes, please, short documents, as shorter as possible. I wonder what would be the weight of the new version of the Denzinger.
§1. Curial institutions shall, as a rule, draft their acts in Latin or another language.
And the alternative was…NOT drafting in a language?
Maybe there’s an idiom there in Italian? It would be unfortunate to put the rule about making rules in an idiomatic phrase that many would miss the point of. But maybe the Romans don’t care about stuff like that.