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LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE
MOTU PROPRIO DATAE
"LATINA LINGUA"
De Pontificia Academia Latinitatis condenda
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1. Latina Lingua permagni ab Ecclesia Catholica Romanisque Pontificibus usque est aestimata, quandoquidem ipsorum propria habita est lingua, qui eandem cognoscendam et diffundendam assidue curaverunt, cum Evangelii nuntium in universum orbem transmittere valeret, quemadmodum in Constitutione Apostolica Veterum sapientia Decessor Noster beatus Ioannes XXIII iure meritoque edixit.
Enimvero inde a Pentecoste omnibus hominum linguis locuta et precata est Ecclesia. Attamen christianae communitates primorum saeculorum linguam Graecam Latinamque affatim usurpaverunt, cum illis locis in quibus morabantur universalia essent communicationis instrumenta, quorum ope Christi Verbi novitas hereditati obviam ivit Romani et Hellenistici cultus.
Romano Imperio occidentali exstincto, Romana Ecclesia non modo lingua Latina uti perrexit, verum etiam quodammodo custos eiusdem et fautrix fuit, sive in Theologiae ac Liturgiae, sive in institutionis et scientiae transmittendae provincia.
2. Nostris quoque temporibus Latinae linguae et cultus cognitio perquam est necessaria ad fontes vestigandos ex quibus complures disciplinae ceteroqui hauriunt, exempli gratia Theologia, Liturgia, Patrologia et Ius Canonicum, quemadmodum Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum II docet (cfr Decretum de Institutione sacerdotali, Optatam totius, 13).
In hac praeterea lingua, ut universalis Ecclesiae natura pateat, typica forma sunt scripti liturgici libri Romani Ritus, praestantiora Magisterii pontificii Documenta necnon sollemniora Romanorum Pontificum officialia Acta.
3. In hodierno tamen cultu, humanarum litterarum extenuatis studiis, periculum adest levioris linguae Latinae cognitionis, quae in curriculis philosophicis theologicisque futurorum presbyterorum quoque animadvertitur. Sed contra, in nostro ipso orbe, in quo scientia ac technologia praecipuum obtinent locum, renovatum culturae et linguae Latinae studium invenitur, non illis in Continentibus dumtaxat quae proprias culturales radices in patrimonio Graeco et Romano habent. Id diligentius est animadvertendum eo quod non modo academiarum provincia et institutionum implicatur, sed ad iuvenes inquisitoresque etiam attinet, qui ex diversissimis Nationibus et traditionibus proveniunt.
4. Quapropter necessitas instare videtur ut linguae Latinae altius cognoscendae eiusque congruenter utendae fulciatur cura, sive in ecclesiali sive in patentiore cultus campo. Ut hic nisus extollatur et evulgetur, consentaneum prorsus est docendi rationes adhibere aptas ad novas condiciones et provehere item necessitudines inter Academicas institutiones et inquisitores, ut copiosum ac multiforme Latini cultus patrimonium efferatur.
Ad haec proposita assequenda, Decessorum Nostrorum semitas calcantes, hasce per Litteras Apostolicas Motu Proprio datas hodie Pontificiam Academiam Latinitatis condimus, quae Pontificio Consilio de Cultura erit obnoxia. Eam regit Praeses, quem Secretarius iuvat et ii a Nobis nominantur, dum Consilium Academicum illis auxilium fert.
Opus Fundatum Latinitas, quod Pauli PP. VI chirographo Romani Sermonis die XXX mensis Iunii anno MCMLXXVI est constitutum, exstinguitur.
Decernimus ut hae Litterae Apostolicae Motu Proprio datae, quibus ad experimentum in quinquennium adnexum Statutum comprobamus, per editionem in actis diurnis "L’Osservatore Romano" evulgentur.
Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die X mensis Novembris, in memoria Sancti Leonis Magni Papae, anno MMXII, Pontificatus Nostri octavo.
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
[Published in L'Osservatore Romano, Year CLII, n, 260 - November 11, 2012 issue]
[Update: translation]
1. The Latin language has always been held in very high esteem by the Catholic Church and by the Roman Pontiffs. They have assiduously encouraged the knowledge and dissemination of Latin, adopting it as the Church’s language, capable of passing on the Gospel message throughout the world. This is authoritatively stated by the Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia of my Predecessor, Blessed John XXIII.
Indeed the Church has spoken and prayed in the languages of all peoples since Pentecost. Nevertheless, the Christian communities of the early centuries made frequent use of Greek and Latin, languages of universal communication in the world in which they lived and through which the newness of Christ’s word encountered the heritage of the Roman-Hellenistic culture.
After the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, the Church of Rome not only continued to use Latin but, in a certain way, made herself its custodian and champion in both the theological and liturgical sectors as well as in formation and in the transmission of knowledge.
2. In our time too, knowledge of the Latin language and culture is proving to be more necessary than ever for the study of the sources, which, among others, numerous ecclesiastical disciplines draw from, such as, for example, theology, liturgy, patristics and canon law, as the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council teaches (cf. Decree Optatam Totius, n. 13).
In addition, precisely in order to highlight the Church’s universal character, the liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the most important documents of the Papal Magisterium and the most solemn official Acts of the Roman Pontiffs are written in this language in their authentic form.
3. Yet in today’s culture, the danger of an increasingly superficial knowledge of Latin may be noted in the context of the widespread weakening of humanistic studies. This is also a risk in the context of the philosophical and theological studies of future priests. Moreover in our own world, in which science and technology play such an important role, there is a renewed interest in the Latin culture and language and not only on those continents whose culture is rooted in the Greco-Roman heritage. This attention seems all the more meaningful since it not only involves academic and institutional sectors but also concerns young people and scholars from very different nations and traditions.
4. It therefore appears urgently necessary to support the commitment to a greater knowledge and more competent use of Latin, both in the ecclesial context and in the broader world of culture. In order to give relevance and resonance to this undertaking the use of didactic methods in keeping with the new conditions and the promotion of a network of relations between academic institutions and scholars is particularly appropriate so as to make the most of the rich and multiform patrimony of the Latin civilization.
To contribute to attaining these goals following in the footsteps of my venerable Predecessors, today, with this Motu Proprio, I establish the Pontifical Academy for Latin, under the Pontifical Council for Culture. It is governed by a President assisted by a Secretary, who are appointed by me, and by an Academic Council.
The Latinitas Foundation, erected by Paul VI with the Chirograph Romani Sermonis of 30 June 1976 is hereby replaced.
I order that this Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio, with which I approve the attached Statutes ad experimentum, for five years, be published in L’Osservatore Romano.
Given at St Peter’s in Rome on 10 November 2012, the Memorial of St Leo the Great, the eighth year of my Pontificate.
[Translation - and text of Statutes in English - provided by the Holy See]
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[Update: translation]
Apostolic Letter
given motu proprio
LATINA LINGUA
of the Supreme Pontiff
BENEDICT XVI
of the Supreme Pontiff
BENEDICT XVI
1. The Latin language has always been held in very high esteem by the Catholic Church and by the Roman Pontiffs. They have assiduously encouraged the knowledge and dissemination of Latin, adopting it as the Church’s language, capable of passing on the Gospel message throughout the world. This is authoritatively stated by the Apostolic Constitution Veterum Sapientia of my Predecessor, Blessed John XXIII.
Indeed the Church has spoken and prayed in the languages of all peoples since Pentecost. Nevertheless, the Christian communities of the early centuries made frequent use of Greek and Latin, languages of universal communication in the world in which they lived and through which the newness of Christ’s word encountered the heritage of the Roman-Hellenistic culture.
After the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, the Church of Rome not only continued to use Latin but, in a certain way, made herself its custodian and champion in both the theological and liturgical sectors as well as in formation and in the transmission of knowledge.
2. In our time too, knowledge of the Latin language and culture is proving to be more necessary than ever for the study of the sources, which, among others, numerous ecclesiastical disciplines draw from, such as, for example, theology, liturgy, patristics and canon law, as the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council teaches (cf. Decree Optatam Totius, n. 13).
In addition, precisely in order to highlight the Church’s universal character, the liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the most important documents of the Papal Magisterium and the most solemn official Acts of the Roman Pontiffs are written in this language in their authentic form.
3. Yet in today’s culture, the danger of an increasingly superficial knowledge of Latin may be noted in the context of the widespread weakening of humanistic studies. This is also a risk in the context of the philosophical and theological studies of future priests. Moreover in our own world, in which science and technology play such an important role, there is a renewed interest in the Latin culture and language and not only on those continents whose culture is rooted in the Greco-Roman heritage. This attention seems all the more meaningful since it not only involves academic and institutional sectors but also concerns young people and scholars from very different nations and traditions.
4. It therefore appears urgently necessary to support the commitment to a greater knowledge and more competent use of Latin, both in the ecclesial context and in the broader world of culture. In order to give relevance and resonance to this undertaking the use of didactic methods in keeping with the new conditions and the promotion of a network of relations between academic institutions and scholars is particularly appropriate so as to make the most of the rich and multiform patrimony of the Latin civilization.
To contribute to attaining these goals following in the footsteps of my venerable Predecessors, today, with this Motu Proprio, I establish the Pontifical Academy for Latin, under the Pontifical Council for Culture. It is governed by a President assisted by a Secretary, who are appointed by me, and by an Academic Council.
The Latinitas Foundation, erected by Paul VI with the Chirograph Romani Sermonis of 30 June 1976 is hereby replaced.
I order that this Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio, with which I approve the attached Statutes ad experimentum, for five years, be published in L’Osservatore Romano.
Given at St Peter’s in Rome on 10 November 2012, the Memorial of St Leo the Great, the eighth year of my Pontificate.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
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Pontificiae Academiae Latinitatis Statutum
Art. I
Pontificia Academia Latinitatis conditur, cuius sedes in Statu Civitatis Vaticanae locatur, quae linguam Latinam et cultum promoveat extollatque. Academia cum Pontificio Consilio de Cultura copulatur, cui est obnoxia.
Art. II
§ 1. Haec sunt Academiae proposita:
a) ut linguae litterarumque Latinarum, quae ad classicos, Christianos, mediaevales, humanisticos et recentissimos pertinent auctores, cognitionem iuvet studiumque provehat, praesertim apud catholica instituta, in quibus vel Seminarii tirones vel presbyteri instituuntur atque erudiuntur;
b) Ut provehat diversis in provinciis Latinae linguae usum, sive scribendo sive loquendo.
§ 2. Ut haec proposita consequatur, Academia studet:
a) scripta, conventus, studiorum congressiones, scaenica opera curare;
b) curricula, seminaria aliaque educationis incepta procurare, etiam iunctis viribus cum Pontificio Instituto Altioris Latinitatis;
c) hodierna quoque communicationis instrumenta in discipulis instituendis adhibere, ut sermonem Latinum perdiscant;
d) expositiones, exhibitiones et certamina apparare;
e) alia agere ac suscipere ad hoc Institutionis propositum assequendum.
Art. III
Pontificia Academia Latinitatis Praesidem, Secretarium, Consilium Academicum ac Sodales, qui Academici quoque nuncupantur, complectitur.
Art. IV
§ 1. Academiae Praeses a Summo Pontifice in quinquennium nominatur. Praesidis mandatum in alterum quinquennium renovari potest.
§ 2. Ad Praesidem spectat:
a) iure Academiae, etiam coram quavis iudiciali administrativaque auctoritate, sive canonica sive civili, partes agere;
b) Consilium Academicum et Sodalium Congressionem convocare eisque praesidere;
c) Congressionibus Coordinationis Academiarum Pontificiarum Sodalis loco interesse atque cum Pontificio Consilio de Cultura necessitudinem persequi;
d) Academiae rebus agendis praeesse;
e) ordinariae administrationi, Secretario opem ferente, atque extraordinariae administrationi, suffragante Consilio Academico necnon Pontificio Consilio de Cultura, consulere.
Art. V
§ 1. In quinquennium a Summo Pontifice nominatur Secretarius, qui in alterum quinquennium confirmari potest.
§ 2. Praeses, si forte absit vel impediatur, Secretarium delegat, ut ipsius vice fungatur.
Art. VI
§ 1. Consilium Academicum constituunt Praeses, Secretarius et quinque Consiliarii. Consiliarii autem a coetu Academicorum in quinquennium eliguntur, qui confirmari possunt.
§ 2. Consilium Academicum, cui Academiae Praeses praeficitur, de maioris ponderis quaestionibus, ad Academiam attinentibus, decernit. Ipsum Rerum agendarum ordinem comprobat, quae a Coetu Sodalium tractanda erunt, qui saltem semel in anno est convocandus. Consilium a Praeside convocatur semel in anno atque quotiescumque porro id saltem tres Consiliarii requirunt.
Art. VII
Praeses, suffragante Consilio, Archivarium, qui Bibliothecarii partes quoque agit, atque Thesaurarium nominare potest.
Art. VIII
§ 1. Academiam constituunt Sodales Ordinarii, qui numerum quinquaginta non excedunt et Academici vocantur, quique studiosi sunt cultoresque linguae ac litterarum Latinarum. Ii a Secretario Status nominantur. Cum autem Sodales Ordinarii octogesimum aetatis annum complent, Emeriti fiunt.
§ 2. Academici Ordinarii Academiae Coetui, a Praeside convocato, intersunt. Academici Emeriti Coetui interesse possunt, at sine suffragio.
§ 3. Praeter Academicos Ordinarios, Academiae Praeses, Consilio audito, alios Sodales nominare potest, qui "correspondentes" nuncupantur.
Art. IX
Aboliti Operis Fundati Latinitas patrimonium inceptaque, compositione editioneque commentariorum Latinitas addita, in Pontificiam Academiam Latinitatis transferuntur.
Art. X
Quae hic expresse non deliberantur, Codice Iuris Canonici et Status Civitatis Vaticanae legibus temperantur.
