Breton language excluded when modern liturgy introduced
Erasing the Breton language from our Churches is also cancel culture
What is cancel culture? According to Wikipedia, cancel culture is a practice that emerged in the United States of publicly denouncing and ostracising individuals, groups or institutions responsible for actions, behaviour or words that are perceived as unacceptable.
This banning of certain individuals, behaviours and communities, an avatar of political correctness, is spreading to the physical world and social media, but not only. This is the case for Breton speakers in general, who live in an almost entirely French-speaking world. Here we will look at a particular subject, namely the place of the Breton language in the church, and more precisely the expression of faith in the Breton language. Is it inadmissible today in our communities?
Masses according to the so-called "Paul VI" ritual, entirely in the Breton language, are rarely celebrated, given the number of annual services. However, some people try to work on a balanced mix of French, Latin and Breton, which (in principle) satisfies everyone and above all allows a traditional anchoring (Latin & Breton) while being aware of the reality on the ground (the French-speaking hegemony), on a regular basis. It so happens that in many parishes, several situations stand in the way of progress in this direction. Some examples (not an exhaustive list):
Case A: the liturgy is entirely in French. As soon as a sentence in Latin or Breton is pronounced, there is a hullabaloo from those who claim to be open to the world and to cultural and linguistic diversity. For the sake of liturgical peace, only French is used.
Case B: the liturgy is in French but it is accepted that a little song in Breton is taken from time to time. No more than that. That's enough, but it looks like a little folklore varnish in the hope of satisfying those who would like Breton at mass. "You already have the Re vo melet: what are you complaining about?
Case C: the liturgy is offered in French, Latin and Breton, in the form of a 3/3 balance. Either it goes well and attracts people. Or parishioners come to you and tell you that there is too much Breton and Latin, without realising that the main language used for the celebration - despite a 3/3 choice for the songs - is French.
Case D: the liturgy is entirely in Latin according to the Tridentine Rite. In this case, there is also room for Breton hymns at certain moments of the Holy Mass. Some communities have chosen to do this, but again, there are few examples.
Cathcon: The only real option!!
And if you are told that a Breton hymn is OK, in many parishes you will have to choose only a well-known hymn, such as Kalon Sakret Jezuz (second hymn above), because otherwise "people will not know and will not sing". You can imagine that, like any song in any language, if it is not sung regularly, it will be forgotten. This is already the case for dozens of local hymns sung during pardons. Do we want our centuries-old hymns to disappear into the abyss, many of them (not all of them, of course!) so beautiful that they are sung by many Breton artists in concert but have been pushed out of our liturgies for which they were composed?
Let's face it: in general, the Breton language is gradually being relegated to the sidelines of society. The same is true in our churches, despite the efforts of a few parishes that still resist. And with the language, all those who are attached to it seem to be repudiated. Young and old. Ostracized and then erased... The creeping cancel culture is thus gaining ground even in places that should understand better than anyone else that it is not by cutting its roots that one makes a tree grow.
I couldn't sing in Tahitian, so I learned to sing in Tahitian. I couldn't sing in Corsican, so I learned to sing in Corsican. I couldn't sing in Creole, so I learned to sing in Creole. I didn't know how to sing in Basque, so I started. Because I think that languages are exceptional treasures that express the soul of peoples, and that they do not deserve to be cancelled...
Is it so hard to learn and to invite men and women who do not know Breton to sing in Breton? We can therefore only congratulate and encourage those parishes that are holding firm on the liturgical aspect in Breton, because more than ever, the work is colossal so that in Brittany the faith can continue to be sung in Breton
Cathcon: My great friend, the wonderful Michael Davies once said that he had received a letter from the founder of the Welsh Nationalists, Saunders Lewis which stated that Welsh is the language of my people and Latin is the language of my Church-Saunders was a convert and was a strong supporter of the Latin Mass.
See presentation which relates the decline in the Breton language to the secularisation of the Church.
"The language and the Faith were brother and sister"
The vernacular Mass of the Council has clearly led to tensions between language communities not just in Brittany.
The biggest cancel of them all is the Pope's attempt to supress the Latin Mass.
This will be sung at my graveside.
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