Italian, not Latin, will be language of the Synod
October 06, 2014
Italian, not Latin, will be the "working language" for this month's extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops.
Cardinal Peter Erdo of Budapest, the relator general of the Synod, opened the deliberations on October 6, telling the participating bishops that Pope Francis had ordered the change in the official language.
In another change of policy, bishops have been asked to submit their remarks to the Synod secretariat in advance, so that they can be grouped into different topics to improve the continuity of the discussion. Bishops will be free to depart from their texts when they actually address the assembly. The texts will not be officially released, but bishops are free to grant interviews outside the Synod deliberations.
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Posted by: dover beachcomber -
Oct. 06, 2014 11:05 PM ET USA
I know Francis likes to speak Italian because he's the bishop of an Italian city. But what good can come of this move? It's baffling.
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Posted by: Caritas -
Oct. 06, 2014 7:05 PM ET USA
Why Italian? I imagine Bishops are conversant in Latin but not necessarily in Italian.
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Posted by: tasha1996 -
Oct. 06, 2014 6:39 PM ET USA
When Church Latin is discarded, the Babarians are at the gate!
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Posted by: jg23753479 -
Oct. 06, 2014 6:07 PM ET USA
Why Italian? If Latin is dumped, wouldn't it make more sense to replace it with a language like English which is understood in almost every corner of the globe? I mean Italian is about as "Euro-centric" as one can linguistically get. Whatever happened to all the brave talk about broadening the scope of the Church to include Africa, Asia, and the Americas? And the official reports of this Synod, if there are any, what language will they be published in if we aren't to use one as solid as Latin?
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Posted by: Defender -
Oct. 06, 2014 5:17 PM ET USA
Since there is little wiggle room in Latin as to meaning, it seems that we might hear more equivocations by some of the participants. Isn't the requirement to submit remarks beforehand something that they also did in Vatican II? What will be changed next?
