Bring back Latin to the Vatican!

[Andrew Dalby]

If you think it's a good idea for the Vatican to create a Latin version of its website, please sign this petition. Latin needs you!

[Pantagathus]

Done

[Nephele]

I think Latin's too good for the Vatican.

 

-- Nephele

[Marcus Caelius]

I'm tempted. If we can't ban religion outright, maybe it would help to make it completely unintelligible to the common man.

[Gaius Octavius]

Dr. A.D., I am with you regardless of what the Temptress has to say. If the heathen Finns can do it, why can't the Vatican? Now I'll really have to learn Latin. Shouldn't be too hard for a genius like myself!

[Ingsoc]

Intresting, is this indication to the real status of Latin in the Catholic Church? I mean it's indeed the official language of the church but what is the actuall extent of it's use in every day affairs in the church?

[Gaius Octavius]

Intresting, is this indication to the real status of Latin in the Catholic Church? I mean it's indeed the official language of the church but what is the actuall extent of it's use in every day affairs in the church?

 

The Papal encyclicals are written up in Latin.

 

Latin was the literary and official (?) language of Hungary until the 19th century.

[M. Porcius Cato]

I think Latin's too good for the Vatican.

 

Seriously, I don't think people will learn Latin so that they can read the Vatican web site. The Vatican web site might be interesting for teachers of Latin, but even then I think it's utility is pretty limited. In my opinion, the best way to motivate interest in Latin is to motivate interest in the Roman world, where you need Latin to really know for sure what happened, and Latin literature (which can be really, really good). It's the ancients--not us moderns (if Vatican can be called modern)--that will turn people on to Latin.

Edited October 11, 2007 by M. Porcius Cato