Conserve Latin in Church

Catholic World News (CWN):



"A new document on the use of Latin in the Church, and the teaching of Latin in seminaries, is expected sometime this year.



Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, has confirmed that he hopes the document being prepared by that Congregation will be published in 2004.



'In order not to mutilate herself, the Church cannot fail to conserve her tradition and patrimony written in Latin,' the Polish cardinal remarked during a February 25 meeting in Rome. He pointed out that Latin remains the official language of the Roman Church, and the official documents of the magisterium are written in that language.



Therefore, he concluded, the Church needs priests who are familiar with the language, in order to ensure that they fully understand Catholic teachings. "