Recently a Latin Ordinary Form Missal arrived for me in the mail (the Roman Missal is the book Roman Catholic priests use to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass).
Many people think that Vatican II did away with the Latin language, but this is a misunderstanding. While permitting vernacular in Sacred worship, it also said:
“The use of Latin, with due respect to particular law, is to be preserved in the Latin Rites.” – Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium #36, 1963
“Nevertheless care must be taken to ensure that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.” -Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium #54, 1963
The popes who oversaw the council also said these things:
“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.” – Saint Pope Paul VI, Sacrificium Laudis, 1966
“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 non-vernacular.” – Pope Saint John XXIII, Veterum Sapientia, 1962
