Latin - Modern Latin

Modern Latin

The largest organization that retains Latin in official and quasi-official contexts is the Catholic Church. Latin remains the language of the Roman Rite; the Tridentine Mass is celebrated in Latin, and although the Mass of Paul VI is usually celebrated in the local vernacular language, it can be and often is said in Latin, in part or whole, especially at multilingual gatherings. Latin is the official language of the Holy See, the primary language of its public journal, the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, and the working language of the Roman Rota. The Vatican City is also home to the world's only ATM that gives instructions in Latin.
In the Anglican Church, after the publication of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1559, a 1560 Latin edition was published for use at universities such as Oxford and the leading public schools, where the liturgy was still permitted to be conducted in Latin and there have been several Latin translations since. Most recently a Latin edition of the 1979 USA Anglican Book of Common Prayer has appeared.

Some films of ancient settings, such as Sebastiane and The Passion of the Christ, have been made with dialogue in Latin for the sake of realism. Occasionally, Latin dialogue is used because of its association with religion or philosophy, in such film/TV series as The Exorcist and Lost ("Jughead"). Subtitles are usually shown for the benefit of those who do not understand Latin. There are also songs written with Latin lyrics.

Switzerland adopts the country's Latin short name "Helvetia" on coins and stamps, since there is no room to use all of the nation's four official languages. For a similar reason it adopted the international vehicle and internet code "CH" which stands for Confoederatio Helvetica, the country's full Latin name.

Many organizations today have Latin mottos, such as "Semper paratus" (always ready), the motto of the United States Coast Guard, and "Semper fidelis" (always faithful), the motto of the United States Marine Corps. Several of the states of the United States also have Latin mottos, such as "Montani semper liberi" (Mountaineers are always free), the state motto of West Virginia; "Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always for tyrants), that of Virginia; "Esse quam videri" (To be rather than to seem), that of North Carolina; "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice" ("If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you") that of Michigan. Another Latin motto is "Per ardua ad astra" (Through adversity/struggle to the stars), the motto of the RAF.

Occasionally, some media outlets broadcast in Latin, which is targeted at enthusiasts. Notable examples include Radio Bremen in Germany, YLE radio in Finland and Vatican Radio & Television, all of which broadcast news segments and other material in Latin.

There are many websites and forums maintained in Latin by enthusiasts. The Latin Wikipedia has more than 70,000 articles written in Latin.

Latin is still taught in many high schools in Europe and the Americas as complementary teaching. It is still compulsory in few schools, like the Boston Latin School and the Italian Liceo classico and Liceo scientifico.
In the pontifical universities postgraduate courses of Canon law are taught in Latin and papers should be written in the same language.

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