Pope's Latinist Pronounces Death of a Language

[Michael_G]

From the website of the Latin Mass Society of Ireland you can download an audio recording of the TLM.  You can also get a video of the Mass but I don't know whether the format works outside Europe.

[albert]

[He] doesn't have enough time to translate the pope's words or other correspondences to newly appointed bishops.

That's not what he said. He said the bishops want him to translate them into the vernacular, so they can read them in their churches...

You presume he has enough time and I don't.  Fact is, he said nothing about time. 

 

The point is, what one spends one's time on is where one's heart is.  Ergo, he has no heart for translating the pope's words or his correspondences to newly appointed bishops.  But he does have heart for translating his money machine instructions.  By my ledger, that makes him another Judas. -- Albert Cipriani

[LuciaRosa]

He says that you can't understand a lot of important writings correctly in translation,so I don't think that he likes Latin for the wrong reasons. As for his wishing it were a living language, I don't think he means a language that changes like modern ones, but merely one that is used--one that doesn't have to have documents translated into it because people can simply write in it. This is the way it was until even the 18th century in the sciences, and into the 20th in the Church, of which it is the official language. And I think he refuses to translate things back because that is simply not his job. His job is to keep the Vatican running on its official language, and making a Latin ATM is part of that. And maybe he hopes to encourage the bishops to learn Latin themselves. Of course what he said about the Mass is ridiculous.

 

Textkit.com has some downloadable Latin books and a discussion forum for each of them.  

[Paul]

You presume he has enough time and I don't.  Fact is, he said nothing about time.  

The point is, what one spends one's time on is where one's heart is.  Ergo, he has no heart for translating the pope's words or his correspondences to newly appointed bishops.  But he does have heart for translating his money machine instructions.  By my ledger, that makes him another Judas. -- Albert Cipriani

Huh?

The "translations" he's referring to are from Latin to the vernacular. He writes the document in Latin, and sends it to the local bishop proclaiming his installation, or a new parish, or whatever the subject is. The bishop doesn't understand Latin, but wants to read it to the people, so he asks for a vernacular translation. Fr. Foster refuses to provide one. He's not talking about translating anything INTO Latin here.

"Already, we are sending congratulation letters to some Cardinals [in Latin] and they say can we please provide a translation [because the Cardinals can't read Latin]. They want to read them out in the church and so on  [in the vernacular]. Of course, I won't provide translations [into the vernacular]. We might as well be writing in Mandarin [because, to most Cardinals, they understand Latin as well as they understand Chinese, which is not at all]."

[Marylou]

Thank you PaxVobiscum for all your help.

I have purchased Cheryl Lowe' s Latina Christiana. Book 1 on DVD.

So I will commence with that.  The recommendation from a homeschool point of view is very encouraging.

[Martinus]

And on the original subject, a couple of links that prove him wrong!

Finnish Radio:

 

http://www.yleradio1.fi/nuntii/id103.shtml

 

And in case anybody says that's just one little group of mad people, Radio Bremen:

 

http://www.radiobremen.de/nachrichten/latein/

 

I can read what they've written, having studied Latin for quite a while, but understanding spoken Latin is still rather difficult (I rarely get sung propers at Mass these days, and I know the ordinary off by heart anyway, so no practice there...). Still, I think I'll persevere with these.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Thank you PaxVobiscum for all your help.

I have purchased Cheryl Lowe' s Latina Christiana. Book 1 on DVD.

So I will commence with that.  The recommendation from a homeschool point of view is very encouraging.

You're welcome, Mary Lou.  I enjoyed doing the research.

Please let us know how you like the Latina Christiana when you get it.  I thought it would be a good choice for you.   (And I might want it myself. . .)