Can you confess in Latin?

[PJM]

Can you confess in the roman catholic church in Latin?
Can all priests speak it?

If this is true then where can I find proper Latin confession formula?

I am sorry if this was already asked.

Good Q! Thanks

1. Confession in ANY language other than the “common tongue” COULD be permitted CONDITIONALLY:

If the priest UNDERSTANDS the language

& gives his permission [no doubt with a JUST cause] to do so

1. NO, not all priest understand Latin, all though it is currently a mandate for seminarians
2. I suspect the form and formula would follow current NORMS

GBY

 

[jinglebelle]

No. I don’t speak Latin.

Humor aside, if you found a priest who spoke Latin well enough to be conversational in it, then of course one could confess in Latin. Or in Polish or Russian or Welsh or Irish Gaelic or any number of other languages.

If one wanted to utilize Latin just to make everything more formal, then I would suggest they leave those ideas aside. Confession isn’t the time to be engaging in the novel for a lark.

 

[jinglebelle]

Try South Uist for a treat, a wonderful priest generous in soul and language

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

1. NO, not all priest understand Latin, all though it is currently a mandate for seminarians

Even so, I doubt the goal is for seminarians to be able to speak fluent, conversational Latin.

 

[m_p_w]

OP:

Why do you ask?

Well, In the older days Latin was the official language at the Latin catholic church during the masses, and also my grandmother told me that she used to confess and pray in Latin as a child (she didn’t understand it, but she would memorize the text) Therefore, I want to confess in Latin (because I like the old fashion Latin catholic traditions).
It has nothing to do with more holy, but more with the tradition which is almost forgotten at the Latin catholic church

 

[CB_Catholic]

Well, In the older days Latin was the official language at the Latin catholic church during the masses, and also my grandmother told me that she used to confess and pray in Latin as a child (she didn’t understand it, but she would memorize the text) Therefore, I want to confess in Latin (because I like the old fashion Latin catholic traditions).
It has nothing to do with more holy, but more with the tradition which is almost forgotten at the Latin catholic church

Your grandmother might have done that, but it is far from a Latin Catholic tradition. It is/was very rare for that to happen, even pre-Vatican II. In Confession we need to understand what we are doing and saying and be able to communicate adequately in some form, and most priests are not conversational in Latin. It was never an “almost forgotten” tradition except perhaps in the early Church when Latin was the common language of the people, and later when it became the language of academia.

Anyway, even priests who have studied Latin and say Mass in Latin probably would be hard pressed to hear a Confession in Latin unless they were conversational in it, which they aren’t for the most part. They sure weren’t pre-Vatican II.

The point of Confession is not to keep a tradition. It is to confess your sins and receive absolution. Language does not matter to God–He doesn’t need it.

 

[felsguy]

Well, In the older days Latin was the official language at the Latin catholic church during the masses, and also my grandmother told me that she used to confess and pray in Latin as a child (she didn’t understand it, but she would memorize the text) Therefore, I want to confess in Latin (because I like the old fashion Latin catholic traditions).
It has nothing to do with more holy, but more with the tradition which is almost forgotten at the Latin catholic church

I wonder if perhaps what your grandmother meant was that she could say her act of contrition, or prayers assigned to her as her penance or even greet and thank her confessor in Latin. To be able to enumerate one’s sins in Latin would take quite a bit of study on both the penitent’s and the confessor’s part…

 

[SAVINGRACE]

I’d say it was for a little while in the Roman Empire.

 

[WingsOfEagles]

Does anyone know how you would translate “I illegally downloaded a movie from a pirate file-sharing website” into Latin? Asking for a friend.

Google translate has you covered…I mean has your friend covered…

“Ego legem downloaded from a movie-pirata file participes website”

 

[1neophyte]

Google translate has you covered…I mean has your friend covered…

“Ego legem downloaded from a movie-pirata file participes website”

 

[SAVINGRACE]

Why not? Priests are hearing confessions from just about every language on the planet. Lots of Priests speak Latin. Not sure why you would want to, doesn’t make a difference, a sin is a sin in any language.

 

[DignumEtJustum]

Google translate has you covered…I mean has your friend covered…

“Ego legem downloaded from a movie-pirata file participes website”

Actually that’s pretty awful.