Another question for Catholics, on recent church history?

Question

My actual question is on why the Catholic church doesn't do masses in Latin any more.

Here's what I know, and as you'll see, this little collection of things has me rather confused: I know that the change was pretty recent, around the 1960's. My significant other, who was raised in a weird hybrid of Russian Orthodox/Catholicism, refers to it as "Vatican 2" but doesn't really know where that came from. (This may well be a cultural thing for him, as he lived in Latvia until he was 9, so total clarification of that isn't necessary.) We have one church in the area that still does Latin Masses, but I've been told they're "unofficial" or possibly even excommunicated.

Can anyone enlighten me further?

Answer 1

I lived through this almost revolution. Believe me Latin isn't allowed. Two priests in France and one in Quebec were kicked out.
Pope John the 23rd called a theological conference which was the second one in Church history.It is called Vatican 2. The intent was to move the church into the twentieth century and prepare it for the twentieth first.At that time discussion was begun about female priests, marriage in the clergy and what was called liberation theology. This caused a uproar, albeit a quiet one. Liberation theory was particularly controversial.It called for Christians to act against governments that professed to be christian and used method such as political and physical oppression. Priests were called upon to denounce such organizations and governments from the pulpit.This was not what the conservatives in the church. But anyway the things they did decide was to turn the priest to face towards the congregation and to drop latin as the language of the Mass. The mass is now offered in the language of the congregation. So therefore in Spain it is in spanish etc.Priests who offer the mass in latin have been excommunicated and such masses are not official nor any of the rites valid. There is a sect known as the The American Catholic Church(Old Rite) who have split from the Vatican. They follow the old RC masses and services in latin.
The conservatives got a man of the 18th century elected who made sure that the church will never see the church stand up for individual rights before totalitarian governments. The church won't even stand up for molested childrens rights or protect others from their predators. No married priests, no female preists and the congregation just sits there and obeys orders.
When he died we got the Grand Inquisitor who is even surer that any change is evil and he will stop it.
Sorry but I have a feeling that Christ couldn't get into the Vatican.

Answer 2

vatican 2 means the Second Vatican Council. "The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965."

It was a church council convened by Pope John XXIII to consider various questions of Church reform. Pope John wanted the Church to be more accessible to its people -- "I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in."

Some of the changes stemming from that council were to do with revising the liturgy of the mass so that it was in the local language of the people and not in Latin which few lay people could understand. This way, the lay people of the Church could more fully participate in the Mass - plus, if memory serves, it was thought that's the way the first masses would have been conducted.

It was at this time that the priest was required to face the people when saying Mass instead of the traditional way of facing the tabernacle -- bringing the Mass closer to the people.

I think you need permission to say a traditional or Tridentine mass these days.

Answer 3

The reason that the Catholic church doesn't do masses in Latin anymore is because most people don't know Latin. Vatican II was a council held by Pope John XXIII to bring "fresh air" into the church-- and one of the things the council decided on was to have the Mass celebrated in the local languages that people spoke to make it easier for people to participate and understand what is going on.

I don't think that saying masses in Latin makes the mass unofficial. I don't think that the Church found anything wrong with the Latin masses--- just that the Church wanted people to have the option of local language masses. I've never heard a full mass in Latin but I've heard one with Latin mass parts sung. It's really pretty and makes the service seem more solemn somehow. I hear older people in my church wishing they miss the Latin masses.

Answer 4

Best of my knowledge there is no ban on doing Latin masses,it simply is allowed to be done in other languages now. Vatican 2 was simply a council if you will to debate and approve changes wanted by many regular catholics and clergy,decisions being made I believe from the cardinal level and up. It's called Vatican 2 obviously because they had done it twice. In fact at one time in history,as far as masses are concerned,not only did they perform masses in Latin but also with their back to the congregation. The catholic church is very slow to change,it took them a couple hundred years to acknowledge that scientists were right when they said the Earth revolved around the sun rather than visa versa,even burning a man at the stake over it.

Answer 5

The Catholic Church does allow Latin Masses to be done (but you have to receive special permission) but most of them are done in the language of the area so that people will understand them better.

There is a group that broke away from the Church that does so-called "masses" in Latin. They do this without permission and also ignore the leadership of the Pope and Church since Vatican 2.