Pope Benedict Wants Mass Translation Changed from 'For All' to 'For Many'

[dean24us]

Originally Posted by Zimm3r

Also that is for the priests, and has practical application and is also feasible. For the laity it is first not practical because people would benefit much more from their native language than Latin and it isn't feasible. I don't understand why people think Latin is so great, yes the clergy use it but that is for historical reasons not because it is "God's language" or theologically better.

Total agreement with your assessment. I have never understood the "Latin is better" crowd... Latin was simply the most common language at the time the Church was formed, hence the reason it was chosen as the "Universal Language" for the "Universal Church". So, in that sense, Latin *WAS* the vernacular language at the time it was chosen for use -- it was a pragmatic choice.

God bless,
Dean

[LittleSoldier]

Originally Posted by JoeBowen7

But other languages are more difficult:
Hungarian, Arabic, written Chinese, etc.

Yes, they are. I think that even English is a difficult language to learn.

I can learn Latin. It will take some time but I will learn.

[ProVobis]

Originally Posted by dean24us

So, in that sense, Latin *WAS* the vernacular language at the time it was chosen for use -- it was a pragmatic choice.

No. Vulgar Latin was the vernacular language at the time. This is the language which morphed into the Romance languages we have today, such as Spanish, Italian, French, etc.

Some of the differences between Vulgar Latin and Classic Latin are given here in a document found from around the 3rd century.

http://ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germ...dix_probi.html