This post is about a contemporary international event that depends on the quality of Latin.
Tuesday, February 11th will be the 7th anniversary of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
A small few have questioned the validity (and thus effectiveness) of the canonical act of resignation under Catholic canon law (code of 1983) based on the Latin of the Pope's declaratio that day.
Their main contention revolves around Pope Benedict's renunciation of the "ministerium" instead of "munus," as called for in canon law. I'll paste a key section of the declaratio below and then canon 332 section 2 and then a longer, point-by-point analysis (not my analysis):
w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/la/speeches/2013/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20130211_declaratio.html
"Quapropter bene conscius ponderis huius actus plena libertate declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus Cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commisso renuntiare…"
Canon 332, Section 2 states:
"§ 2. Si contingat ut Romanus Pontifex muneri suo renuntiet, ad validitatem requiritur ut renuntiatio libere fiat et rite manifestetur, non vero ut a quopiam acceptetur."
Most say that minsterium / munus is a distinction without a difference. Lewis and Short lists ministerium as a synonym for munus, although noting that neither Cicero nor Caesar used them as synonyms.
" munus
mūnus (old orthogr. moenus;
I moenera militiaï, Lucr. 1, 29), ĕris, n. root mu-; cf.: moenia, munis, munia, etc., a service, office, post, employment, function, duty (class.; syn.: officium, ministerium, honos)."
http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/phi ... isandshort
"ministerium
mĭnistĕrĭum, ii, n. minister,
I the office or functions of a minister, attendance, service, ministry, in a good or bad sense; an office, occupation, work, labor, employment, administration, etc. (not in Cic. or Cæs.; cf.: munus, officium)."
http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/phi ... isandshort
...
Frankly, Alexis Bugnolo, pardon me for naming the whistle-blower, seems the Catholic equivalent of those seeking secret codes in the Bible...