The Vatican needs to embrace English, especially with an American pope

[Michie]

Taunting Pope Leo about his favorite baseball team has become something of a tradition in the early months of his pontificate.

Images of then-Father Robert Prevost at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series – taking place at the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox – are circling Facebook. (The White Sox swept the Houston Astros that year, by the way.)



Since then, Facebook and X and other sites are showing Leo being presented baseball team shirts– sometimes for hated rivals of the White Sox, such as the Chicago Cubs.

Baseball is the national sport of the U.S., and as everyone knows, Pope Leo is the first pontiff from the United States.

Everyone, that is, but the Vatican – at least when it comes to language.

I worked for Vatican Radio for 15 years – serving under three popes – and it was made clear that the rise in the English language was to be resisted, at every level. To all appearances, it still is.

Pope St. John Paul II spoke perfect English, but when he spoke to groups of ambassadors, he spoke in French. Usually, these groups came from smaller nations that didn’t have embassies for the Vatican, so their Vatican ambassador was usually serving as an ambassador to another European country (ambassadors to Italy were not allowed to also be ambassadors to the Holy See.) These officials would often have lunch or dinner together after the pope’s address, and they spoke to each other in English, because that is the common language most ambassadors around the world speak.

Continued below.

https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2025/10/the-vatican-needs-to-embrace-english-especially-with-an-american-pope

 

[chevyontheriver]

Taunting Pope Leo about his favorite baseball team has become something of a tradition in the early months of his pontificate.

Images of then-Father Robert Prevost at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series – taking place at the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox – are circling Facebook. (The White Sox swept the Houston Astros that year, by the way.)



Since then, Facebook and X and other sites are showing Leo being presented baseball team shirts– sometimes for hated rivals of the White Sox, such as the Chicago Cubs.

Baseball is the national sport of the U.S., and as everyone knows, Pope Leo is the first pontiff from the United States.

Everyone, that is, but the Vatican – at least when it comes to language.

I worked for Vatican Radio for 15 years – serving under three popes – and it was made clear that the rise in the English language was to be resisted, at every level. To all appearances, it still is.

Pope St. John Paul II spoke perfect English, but when he spoke to groups of ambassadors, he spoke in French. Usually, these groups came from smaller nations that didn’t have embassies for the Vatican, so their Vatican ambassador was usually serving as an ambassador to another European country (ambassadors to Italy were not allowed to also be ambassadors to the Holy See.) These officials would often have lunch or dinner together after the pope’s address, and they spoke to each other in English, because that is the common language most ambassadors around the world speak.

Continued below.

https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2025/10/the-vatican-needs-to-embrace-english-especially-with-an-american-pope

I don't really care what language they speak as long as they are real Catholics.

 

[Tom D]

Cruxnow??
I never read anything from Cruxnow since I found out their 'leanings'.
This post confirms it-----they don't like tradition.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Cruxnow??
I never read anything from Cruxnow since I found out their 'leanings'.
This post confirms it-----they don't like tradition.

I will occasionally read something by them, knowing their bias. I would not consider a steady diet of Crux to be healthy.