Translators are Traitors

Not sure if anyone cares, but there has been a dispute over the Pope's newest encyclical Sacramentum Caritatis, the sacrament of love, and its translations into the vernacular. Reginald Foster, the Pope's latinist, has told us that he is upset by the negligence of the English rendition of the text. He believes it to be a sign that not only is latin not being taught or understood properly within the church but of the way that the Vatican is run. "We would have been kicked out of the seminary for making such mistakes," he said, "and now they are being made all the way up in the highest ranks in official documents. Its nothing but carelessness."

The controversy is over the English rendering of the Latin "aequum est," as in, 'it is good/right/fitting/just/proper.' This phrase appears about in the statement "aequum est ut huiusmodi celebrationes fiant lingua Latina," which is meant to be expressed in English 'it is fitting to say the liturgy in Latin at such events.' Instead, the English edition reads "such liturgies could be celebrated in Latin." The translation is not only mislead, it is incorrect.

For those interested in langauges, here are some other renderings:

The French reads: "il est bon que ces célébrations soient en langue latine."

The Italian translation says: "è bene che tali celebrazioni siano in lingua latina."

The German translation proposes: "Es ist gut, wenn außer den Lesungen, der Predigt und den Fürbitten der Gläubigen die Feier in lateinischer Sprache gehalten wird."

Anyhow, just a thought.