"There were bishops who did not attend Vatican II because they couldn't understand what was being said. It was conducted, as you know, in Latin."
This is an altogether different capability. Colloquial Latin requires a different mode of recognizing meanings. A familiar liturgical text would have been mastered easily, especially since it loomed so importantly in priestly lives. Heck, many ordinary Catholics who never took a course in high school Latin routinely learned to recite the Pater Noster and the Salve Regina and the Ave Maria without any difficulty. Even when I write these titles down--most people know immediately what prayers I am referring to.
"would have been mastered easily, especially since it loomed so importantly in priestly lives. Heck, many ordinary Catholics who never took a course in high school Latin routinely learned to recite the Pater Noster and the Salve Regina and the Ave Maria without any difficulty."
Yo!
Every day. Except when I fall into the sin of sloth.