Veterum sapientia
Veterum sapientia ( Latin : The wisdom of the ancients) is an Apostolic Constitution written and published in Latin . It was approved by Pope John XXIII on February 22, 1962 . was signed.
A venerable language
The Pope promotes Latin as a scientific and cult language of the Church on all continents. He first refers to the age of a united Europe and worldwide relations between peoples. The Latin language is a venerable language, the effectiveness of which should not be underestimated. That is why his core sentence is:
“ By its very nature, the Latin language is highly suitable for promoting the culture of humanity among all peoples. It does not arouse jealousy, it offers itself to the individual nations without distinction and does not favor either side . "
Latin studies
For John XXIII. Latin was particularly important as the language of liturgy and theological teaching. Their use should be encouraged and therefore the Pope ordered the "Aggiornamento" to intensify Latin lessons for theology students and to teach the important theological subjects in seminars and universities in Latin. He commissioned the seminaries and universities to draw up a curriculum for teaching Latin, which could only be changed in exceptional cases.
Latin: an unchangeable language
According to the Pope, Latin is universal and suitable for promoting any form of culture among peoples. This language does not give rise to jealousy, it does not favor a nation , but it is an impartial gift and can be acceptable to everyone. It is therefore necessary to preserve the language as a "sacred language" and immutable language.
Exhortation
John XXIII in the section of the Exhortatio orders that in the Catholic world all correspondence drawn up and edited by the Curia , which concerns everyone, must be in Latin. Latin, he warns, is the maternal and unchanging voice that can be accepted for countless nations. In his admonition, he describes the educational value of Latin and encourages that the learning of this language should be understood as effective training for young people. It serves the teachers for practice, maturity and perfectionism in their work, it sharpens wit and promotes the ability to judge.
Further arrangements
In the final decrees, the Pope stipulates that the Latin language should be maintained and transfers responsibility to the bishops . In the seminaries, for which the local bishops are responsible, the promotion of the Latin language is to be ensured. John XXIII goes further and stipulates in the form of a decree that knowledge of the Latin language is essential for the formation of priests. Nobody would be admitted to the study of philosophy or theology unless he had been thoroughly trained in that language and was able to use it meaningfully. In his demands, he calls for the restoration of traditional curricula and announces that the study period will have to be extended if the necessary knowledge cannot be proven. It also expressly includes the teaching staff, i.e. the professors and seminar leaders, in their language skills. Ultimately, he ordered the establishment of a "Latin Academy", which should be staffed with an international faculty of professors of the Latin and Greek languages. Your job is for development and promotion, but also for supervision and translation work. Since Greek must be viewed in close connection with the scriptures, he determined that having been taught in Greek was a prerequisite for studying the higher sciences in theology and philosophy.