The Second Vatican Council on the use of Latin

 

 “But amid this variety of languages a primary place must surely be given to that language which had its origins in Latium, and later proved so admirable a means for the spreading of Christianity throughout the West. And since in God’s special Providence this language united so many nations together under the authority of the Roman Empire — and that for so many centuries — it also became the rightful language of the Apostolic See. Preserved for posterity, it proved to be a bond of unity for the Christian peoples of Europe.”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“ Of its very nature Latin is most suitable for promoting every form of culture among peoples. It gives rise to no jealousies. It does not favor any one nation, but presents itself with equal impartiality to all and is equally acceptable to all. Nor must we overlook the characteristic nobility of Latin for mal structure. Its ‘concise, varied and harmonious style, full of majesty and dignity’ makes for singular clarity and impressiveness of expression. ”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“ the Apostolic See has always been at pains to preserve Latin, deeming it worthy of being used in the exercise of her teaching authority ‘as the splendid vesture of her heavenly doctrine and sacred laws.’ She further requires her sacred ministers to use it, for by so doing they are the better able, wherever they may be, to acquaint themselves with the mind of the Holy See on any matter, and communicate the more easily with Rome and with one another. Thus the ‘knowledge and use of this language,’ so intimately bound up with the Church’s life, ‘is important not so much on cultural or literary grounds, as for religious reasons.’ ”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“ Since ‘every Church must assemble round the Roman Church,’ and since the Supreme Pontiffs have “true episcopal power, ordinary and immediate, over each and every Church and each and every Pastor, as well as over the faithful” of every rite and language, it seems particularly desirable that the instrument of mutual communication be uniform and universal, especially between the Apostolic See and the Churches which use the same Latin rite. ”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“The Church’s language must be not only universal but also immutable. Modern languages are liable to change, and no single one of them is superior to the others in authority. Thus if the truths of the Catholic Church were entrusted to an unspecified number of them, the meaning of these truths, varied as they are, would not be manifested to everyone with sufficient clarity and precision. There would, moreover, be no language which could serve as a common and constant norm by which to gauge the exact meaning of other renderings. But Latin is indeed such a language.” 

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non­vernacular.” 

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“ In addition, the Latin language ‘can be called truly catholic.’ It has been consecrated through constant use by the Apostolic See, the mother and teacher of all Churches, and must be esteemed ‘a treasure … of incomparable worth.’ It is a general passport to the proper understanding of the Christian writers of antiquity and the documents of the Church’s teaching. It is also a most effective bond, binding the Church of today with that of the past and of the future in wonderful continuity. ”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“We also, impelled by the weightiest of reasons ... are fully determined to restore this language to its position of honor and to do all We can to promote its study and use. The employment of Latin has recently been contested in some quarters, and many are asking what the mind of the Apostolic See is in this matter. We have therefore decided to issue the timely directives contained in this document, so as to ensure that the ancient and uninterrupted use of Latin be maintained and, where necessary, restored.”

Pope St. John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia (Apostolic Constitution On the Promotion of the Study of Latin), February 22, 1962 (just eight months before the opening of Vatican II)

“The use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.”

Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), para. 36.1

Canon lawyer Georg May said: “This sentence has imposed a command to preserve the Latin language. In contrast to the translation produced under the auspices of the German bishops, it must be observed that the official text of the document employs the subjunctive servetur and therefore expresses a command, not merely a recommendation. The Latin language must be preserved. The word USUS clearly commands the actual employment of the Latin language and not simply a possibility of its being used...”

“In accordance with the age­old tradition of the Latin rite, the Latin language is to be retained by clerics in the Divine Office.”

Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium

(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), para. 101.1

“The Latin language is assuredly worthy of being defended with great care instead of being scorned; for the Latin Church it is the most abundant source of Christian civilization and the richest treasury of piety... we must not hold in low esteem these traditions of your fathers which were your glory for centuries.”

Apostolic Letter, Sacrificium Laudis

Summary

Overall the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI clearly contradict the Second Vatican Council. The Mass of Paul VI is imprudent as it clearly goes against the tenor of Quo primum, and even further it goes against the tenor  of the Second Vatican Council which occurred right before the imprudent promulgation of the New Mass by Pope Paul VI.