Are all priests required to learn Latin in seminary?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Geremia
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Most of the priests I know didn’t study Latin… Some only learned it when they went for advanced study.
 
Godfollower said:
Canon 249
Click to expand...
Can. 249 The program of priestly formation is to provide that students not only are carefully taught their native language but also understand Latin well and have a suitable understanding of those foreign languages which seem necessary or useful for their formation or for the exercise of pastoral ministry.
Click to expand...
 
Most of our seminarians take Spanish since that is a language that they are probably more likely to need in our area.
 
The Code for Priestly Formation version 5 is what governs the formation of priests within the United States.

It can be found here, USCCB - Vocations & Priestly Formation Home Page.

Paragraph 172 states that Latin and Greek are “strongly advised” and that Spanish is also “strongly advised”, but not required.

I am currently in formation for the priesthood with the Order of Carmelites and no, Latin is not required.

A priest in formation in the USA is required to complete an MDiv which is a four year masters degree program which contains a lot of requirements as it is. Where I am studying the requirements are 103 credits to get the Masters of Divinity of which 85 credits are core and 18 are elective. I plan, at this time, to spend much of my elections on pastoral counseling.
 
Eastern Catholic priests certainly are not required to study Latin.
 
dixibehr said:
Eastern Catholic priests certainly are not required to study Latin.
Click to expand...
They may be required to study the original language of their liturgy though (ex. greek for Byzantines, Old Church Slavonic)
 
Geremia said:
How can the U.S. bishops make laws superseding the Code of Canon Law, i.e. Canon 249?
Click to expand...
Please go and read the document.

In the Decree of Promulgation you will see that this document was made in accordance with the Code of Canon Law.

Specifically…

Can. 242 §1 In each country there is to be a Charter of Priestly Formation. It is to be drawn up by the Episcopal Conference, taking account of the norms issued by the supreme ecclesiastical authority, and it is to be approved by the Holy See; moreover, it is to be adapted to new circumstances, likewise with the approval of the Holy See. This Charter is to define the overall principles governing formation in the seminary and the general norms which take account of the pastoral needs of each region or province.

As you can read here, it requires the approval of Rome.
Geremia said:
Does not Canon 249 apply to them?
Click to expand...
No, as said else where the Eastern Churches have a separate Code but the Program for Priestly Formation, 5th Edition, does apply to them.
 
Geremia said:
So all priests can theoretically say Latin masses
Click to expand...
I would think it is not the language that would cause priests to be unable to say the Latin Mass. It probably is different and stuff and they just don’t know it. I mean, it is not like Latin is hard to pronounce. I would think anyone can pronounce and say the words with little difficulty so I would think knowing Latin would not be required.

In the choir I sing in, for example, we sing songs in Latin sometimes and while I can pronounce all the words, I don’t have a darn clue what they mean. In fact, something that makes me laugh is I have had the Ave Maria song memorized for years and I only in the last year or so finally found out it was the Hail Mary prayer.
 
When John Paul II appointed a committee to write the Catechism of the Catholic Church it was made up of Cardinals and Bishops from many different countries. Documents of the Church are always written in Latin. In the old days, although all these men spoke different languages, they would be able to converse in latin. Problem was most of them didn’t know Latin well enough to use it as a common language. Fortunately most of them knew enough French to muddle along. As a result, the Catechism was written in French and then translated into Latin for the official document. Rather than translating the Latin translation into the various languages of the world because a translation of a translation is generally a very bad idea, they were translated directly from the French.

This is a true story.

The point being, if the Cardinals and Bishops who wrote the Catechism couldn’t do it in Latin, it should be no surprise if the parish priests of the world aren’t fluent in it.
 
Marsha_Adams said:
Documents of the Church are always written in Latin. … As a result, the Catechism was written in French and then translated into Latin for the official document. Rather than translating the Latin translation into the various languages of the world because a translation of a translation is generally a very bad idea, they were translated directly from the French.
Click to expand...
While it is true that the original composition of the Catechism was in French, I believe the modern language translations were made from that document for the sake of expediency more than any other reason. When the Latin translation was completed in 1997, it was promulgated as the standard (editio typica) and a number of modifications to the existing modern language editions (including, I believe, French) were issued in order to bring them into conformity with the Latin.

(And I believe the Latin translation took 5 years (as opposed to 2 for English), because it had to be precise and suitable for translation and reference)

tee
 
ByzCath said:
The Code for Priestly Formation version 5 is what governs the formation of priests within the United States.

It can be found here, USCCB - Vocations & Priestly Formation Home Page.

Paragraph 172 states that Latin and Greek are “strongly advised” and that Spanish is also “strongly advised”, but not required.

I am currently in formation for the priesthood with the Order of Carmelites and no, Latin is not required.

A priest in formation in the USA is required to complete an MDiv which is a four year masters degree program which contains a lot of requirements as it is. Where I am studying the requirements are 103 credits to get the Masters of Divinity of which 85 credits are core and 18 are elective. I plan, at this time, to spend much of my elections on pastoral counseling.
Click to expand...
In addition to what Br. David has posted, the Code of Canon Law has an entire section that covers consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. Religious communities have their own Ordinaries who are the major superiors. They have certain powers and authority regarding the formation of their religious who are destined to be ordained. The major superiors and their councils decide where their future priests are trained and what degree of training they require, even what areas of study they will require. Some religious commuinities, such as the Carmelites allow their religious to major in any area of theology. Other religious communities do not. They have very a very specific charism and they require a specific major area of concentration that complements that charism. This may or may not include the study of Latin.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Uhmmm…a USCCB document can’t supersede a paragraph of the CIC, even if it was prepared in accord with another paragraph. Anyway, Latin is recommended in the PPF and required in the CIC, so, no conflict anyway. For diocesan priests, Latin is still required.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top