English to replace Latin?
Irish Jesuit Tom Casey, writing in the current issue of America, makes the case for replacing Latin with English as the official language of the church. Since it went online last week (free registration may be necessary), it has become one of the most commented-on articles in the magazine. In a tightly argued brief, Tom points out that there is no 2000-year tradition to favour the retention of Latin: the early Church surprisingly adopted Greek (rather than Hebrew or Latin) as its language. The fact that Latin, with its clarity and flexibility, was the lingua franca of Western Europe led to its adoption by the church in the fourth and fifth centuries. Today English is the most widely used language in the world. Is it time for the church to make another adjustment?