Skimming this article, it looks like not long after Vatican II people started drafting the encyclicals in their native languages, and finishing up the Latin version last.
Actually this is really good news! If the final official version is written last, the Church still has a chance to revise their policies and rewrite the sections touched by AI.
But I’ll let you in on a little secret. This is partially deliberate in order to allow time to gauge an encyclical’s acceptance and ascertain if any tweaks are necessary. By not having the official Latin version published right away, we can receive feedback from Vatican watchers, scientists, and theological experts and amend the Latin version as much as we want before publication.
That alone should tell you that the Latin version, though official, is not the base text anymore. Whereas a hundred years ago the Latin version was produced first and then the vernaculars were rendered as translations of it, now the Latin version is the last to be completed and is essentially a fine-tuned and carefully raked Latin translation of the Italian.
In this case if I were a Catholic, my ask for the Church would be to do substantially more than the usual amount of amendments.
Not being a Catholic, it feels presumptuous to ask, but my guess is that the median Catholic intellectual would not be happy to learn about the degree of AI involvement.
If that’s true, this would be highly irregular.
Normally, they are not supposed to release translations until the Latin original is officially “promulgated” (I think; I am not an authority).
But yeah, you are right. They don’t do it the old way now. Instead, they are going to polish the Latin one for a while. So weird…
No Latin version up.
My own guess is that the starting language is part Italian and part English fwiw.
Skimming this article, it looks like not long after Vatican II people started drafting the encyclicals in their native languages, and finishing up the Latin version last.
https://www.paideiainstitute.org/leo_xiv_and_latin_expect_improvement_but_not_much
Actually this is really good news! If the final official version is written last, the Church still has a chance to revise their policies and rewrite the sections touched by AI.
In this case if I were a Catholic, my ask for the Church would be to do substantially more than the usual amount of amendments.
Not being a Catholic, it feels presumptuous to ask, but my guess is that the median Catholic intellectual would not be happy to learn about the degree of AI involvement.
Thanks, it’s enlightening.
So the “old order” keeps deteriorating…