Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Seminarians are to learn Latin Mass

The national seminary at Maynooth has discussed how the college's programme can be updated to train future priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass.

It comes after a new Vatican document (Universae Ecclesiae) on the 'extraordinary form' Latin Mass said ''future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite''.

Maynooth president Msgr Hugh Connolly told The Irish Catholic that the college has ''had discussions in recent months as to how this curriculum may be supplemented to include an introduction to celebrating in the extraordinary form''.

He said that other seminaries in these islands sometimes provide courses in the Tridentine Mass for seminarians and that Maynooth ''is also very happy to host or indeed organise one of these courses in the future''.

However, he warned that a ''judicious balance must always be sought between the disparities of aptitudes and abilities for Latin among seminarians, the need for a dignified celebration of the Holy Eucharist whether in the ordinary or extraordinary form; and gauging the likely extent of pastoral demand for these services at parish level''.

The new Vatican instruction insists that to celebrate the extraordinary form, a sufficient knowledge of Latin ''allowing the priest to pronounce the words correctly and understand their meaning'' is required.