Language problem in the Catholic Church 1832-1914 by C. Sipovich

The Journal of Byelorussian Studies

Vol. III, No. 1

THE LANGUAGE PROBLEM IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN
BYELORUSSIA FROM 1832 TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR
by Bishop Sipovich

This articles deals with the Catholic Church of the Latin Rite in Byelorussia and its use of vernacular languages in para-liturgical religious services during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th...

...In order to eliminate the problems of the use of languages in the churches, prelate Danisevich requested the Holy See for a ... decision...

...an answer was given by Cardinal Merry Del Val... <Whosoever wishes to use ... Belarusian or Ukrainian ... in their parishes can make a decision in accordance with the wish of the people...>

...Thus after a prolonged struggle between Polish Catholics and the Russian government for the use of their respective languages in the churches of Byelorussia, the proper solution was ultimately provided by the Holy See, which was in harmony with the venerable tradition of the Catholic Church expressed already by the Lateran Council in 1215: everybody has the right to hear the divine truth in his own language and to receive the sacraments in a more intelligible way...

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