Vatican II

[thursdaychamps]

I have been told by a devout Catholic that Vatican II contains a directive that the language of a country is to be the language in which the mass is said. Is this correct, and if so, where do I find that information? Thank you.

 

[fermat]

As I understand it, the second Vatican council gives authority to local Ordinary (e.g. Bishop) to allow Mass to be said in the vernacular. The official language is still Latin, but the Bishop can give permission for the local tongue.

 

[jschutzm]

I have been told by a devout Catholic that Vatican II contains a directive that the language of a country is to be the language in which the mass is said. Is this correct, and if so, where do I find that information? Thank you.

Kinda twisted around. You are right…but backwards at the same time.

Vatican II gave Bishops the permissions to allow Mass to be said in the local language of that area (town, country, etc.) instead of in the official language of the Catholic faith was and still is Latin.

So it is NOT that the language of the country is changed to whatever Mass is said in…but rather Mass is generally said in whatever the language of that country is. - Get the difference?

The way you put it is that IF a Priest decided to say Mass in a made-up language, let’s say Klingon - then the local Country would be expected to change its language to Klingon.

The REALITY is the opposite. IF the local language is Spanish…then Mass can be said in Spanish. If the local language is French (for instance in Quebec) then the Mass can be said in French.

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Now a non-Catholic may think - “Well DUHH!..of course you say Mass in whatever the local language is…how else would you say it?”

Well realize that when you translate something… there is always a loss in meaning…aka “lost in translation”
And when you are talking people’s eternal souls and THEE TRUTH from God – it’s not something you take lightly.

The Mass and most of the Catholic official doctrines, teaching materialis, etc. are all written in Latin.

To change this… could lead to GRAVE misunderstandings. – There are in fact many cases of this in non-Catholic Christian communities misunderstanding things because they almost solely rely on the modern translations in their own languages.

Therefore the Catholic Church took it VERY seriously pondering the idea for centuries, BEFORE it acted. And it took a Council of all the Bishops to decide it.

In the end, the decision was only to “allow” it – not to mandate it.

And it may surprise some that there is a growing layity movement of young people putting pressure on the Vatican to GO BACK TO the Latin Mass for just that sort of issue. That there has been too much ‘lost in translation’
I’m not saying that the Vatican will change it…but it is interesting that the pressure to go back is led NOT by scholars as you suspect, but by the ordinarite (aka average Joes)

I’m sure the Catholic church will ponder the idea a few more hundred years before acting.
hehehehehhe

 

[DavidFilmer]

where do I find that information? Thank you.

Yes, V2 authorized Bishops to incorporate the vernacular tongue into Catholic rites (subject to the approval of the Holy See):

1. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.

1. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters.

1. These norms being observed, it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Art. 22, 2, to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used; their decrees are to be approved, that is, confirmed, by the Apostolic See. And, whenever it seems to be called for, this authority is to consult with bishops of neighboring regions which have the same language.

1. Translations from the Latin text into the mother tongue intended for use in the liturgy must be approved by the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned above.

Second Vatican Council, SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM
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[HisIsTheCrown]

I have been told by a devout Catholic that Vatican II contains a directive that the language of a country is to be the language in which the mass is said. Is this correct, and if so, where do I find that information? Thank you.

Wrong. Imagine countries that have 3 official languages or many minorities as in the USA. You have got in the USA the Eucharist in hundreds of languages…