Latin in

Seminaries •
7 YEARS STUDY FOR ALL
THE Holy See has ordered the establishment of a Latin commission in every nation to put into effect the recent papal decree on Latin and Greek.
The commissions are to see to it that all Latin Rite seminarians receive a minimum of seven years' study of Latin—six hours a week in the first five years and five hours weekly in the last two.
The new regulations will, it is understood, make little difference in Britain where the majority of boys start their studies for the priesthood via the Junior Senimaries, and in most cases have already studied some Latin at school.
The regulations, which come into effect with the Academic Year 1963-4, have been issued by the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities to carry out the directives of the Apostolic Constitution Veteram Sapientia, which Pope John issued in a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's last February 22.
The new regulations were issued on instructions from the Pope and bear his approval. Details were made public a few days ago.
Eight chapters bear the titles: General Norms, Humanistic Studies, Major Seminaries, Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, the Study of Greek, Duties of Apostolic Visitors, Reports to the Holy See, and Temporary Norms.
The chapter on general norms states that each nation must have a commission of experts who will have the task of putting into effect the regulations on the restoration of Latin, and of adapting them to local circumstances.
Each commission will be required to submit its programme to the Congregation of Seminaries and Universities for approval.
The document also establishes a minimum training for Latin instruction for men who have late vocations It further details the exact norms for the reports which apostolic visitors will be expected to submit to the Congregation. Also, the Roman pronunciation is counselled "for reasons of uniformity".
The document takes into account the many and great difficulties involved in carrying out the regulations. At the same time, it insists on the inflexibility of the rules the Pope has established in Veterum Sapientia, which it states are to be accomplished by a gradual process.
Concerning Greek, both the teaching method and authors studied are to be determined according to the same norms as those governing the teaching of Latin. But the number of years and the hours of study may be determined by the commission of each nation.