Cardinal Arinze Stresses Precision in Language of Latin Mass

From the St. Louis Review:

Whether using Latin or a translation into the common language of their country, Catholics should pray at Mass in words that precisely convey the meaning and reverence Church Fathers intended when they wrote those prayers.

That’s what Cardinal Francis Arinze, an influential Vatican liturgist, told about 250 people, mostly clergy and seminarians, attending the final session of the Gateway Liturgical Conference at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in the Central West End on Nov. 11. The three-day event, which focused on how Catholics worship, drew more than 400 people during its three days.

"Language is not everything. But it is one of the most important elements that need attention for good and faith-filled liturgical celebrations," Cardinal Arinze said in his keynote address, "Language in the Roman Rite Liturgy: Latin and Vernacular." He is the prefect, or leader, of the Congregation for Divine Worship at the Vatican.

Cardinal Arinze told the Review during a short break between his talk and a question-answer session that his purpose was not to call for the universal reinstitution of the Latin Mass — though he did request that parishes offer it much more often than they do.

Rather, he wanted to instill an appreciation of the language of the Latin Mass, warn of translations that might be harmful and extol the unifying aspect Latin still offers the Church,

During his hour talk, which he occasionally punctuated with humor, the 74-year-old Nigerian cardinal gave a brief overview of the history of Church language for worship in the Roman rite, noting that Latin officially replaced Greek in the fourth century. Rather than see the Mass prayers written long ago as archaic, modern worshippers should appreciate the wisdom of those long-ago writers, he said.

"In religious matters, people tend to hold on to what they received from the beginning, how their earliest predecessors articulated their religion and prayed.

Words and formulae used by earlier generations are dear to those who today inherit from them," he said.

He said Latin offered a stability that developing modern languages didn’t. As an example, he noted the now pejorative definition attached to the word "propaganda," something that wasn’t attached to its use in the original name Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith), the Vatican agency responsible for missionary efforts.

He called for parishes that have as many as "five Masses" on weekends to offer one of them in Latin. Rural parishes should offer one Latin Mass a month, he added. He acknowledged that not everyone could be fluent in Latin but said people could learn some of the Mass prayers in Latin.

"It is not true that the lay faithful do not want to sing Gregorian chant," he said of the music that often accompanies the Mass in Latin. "What they are asking for are priests and monks and nuns who will share this treasure with them," the cardinal said.

Cardinal Arinze said Vatican II did not discourage the Church’s use of Latin in its liturgy. Pope John XXIII, who spearheaded that historic renewal of the Church, insisted on the continued use of Latin, and council members required through the document "Sacrosanctum Concilium" that seminarians learn it.