Catholic Church Dropped Latin Requirement for Mass

(Reuters) - A new Vatican document instructs bishops around the world to reintroduce the old Latin mass abandoned in the late 1960s if traditionalist Catholics in their areas request it.

The Vatican said on Saturday it wants its official language Latin to be used more often in the Roman Catholic mass.

On May 13, 2011, the Vatican issued a directive reminding bishops they must allow celebration of the Latin mass and giving the Vatican the power to decide any disputes if traditionalists claim their bishop is blocking the use of the old liturgy.

Ecclesiastical Latin continues to be the official language of the Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) allowed the Mass to be celebrated in vernacular languages, leaving the option to celebrate the Mass in Latin to the celebrating priest.

To distinguish this form of Mass from the Vatican II Mass, traditionalist Catholics sometimes call it the "Mass of the Ages", and say that it comes to us "from the Church of the Apostles, and ultimately, indeed, from Him Who is its principal Priest and its spotless Victim". In most countries, the language used for celebrating the Tridentine Mass was and is Latin, which became the language of the Roman liturgy in the late 4th century.

But no pope has ever said that the Latin Mass is invalid. In fact, the largest part of the Catholic Church is known as the Latin Church, also referred to as the Roman Catholic Church.

It is elevated for use in the Catholic Church, which “has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society.” An extraordinary amount of music for the liturgy has been composed in Latin.

Latin continues to be preserved in the Church's liturgy and in many official Church documents, in order to promote unity across languages. While it may appear that the Catholic Church no longer uses much of the Latin language, the truth is much ...

At the end of an accompanying letter to the bishops, Pope Francis expressed regret for abuses in liturgical celebrations on all sides, adding, “I am nonetheless saddened that the instrumental use of Missale Romanum of 1962 is often characterized ...

Si l’Église catholique donne aujourd'hui l'impression de ne plus se servir du latin, la réalité est toue autre. Le latin demeure aujourd'hui encore la langue officielle de l’Église.

Il en va de même pour les textes officiels du droit canonique. Cependant, depuis le Concile Vatican II de 1962-1965, le latin n'est officiellement plus la langue exclusive des rites liturgiques romains et ambrosiens.

Elle a son propre Code de droit canonique, qui ne s'applique pas aux Églises catholiques orientales.