Latin for Roman Catholics

Nico Kinnaman- this Latin book is very well written and organized it is good for learning and highly recommend

This book has some great information which is very poorly organized and makes it much more difficult than necessary to learn. Separating out the grammar and vocabulary into different sections of the book is ridiculous. Anyone who teaches language with modern methods knows that that's not how the brain works. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep or return this. I've seen MUCH better books for learning Latin out there; I was hoping that since I wanted to learn Latin mainly for church purposes that this would suit my needs better, but if it's too difficult to learn then it's pointless.

Latin is best known today as the idiom of the Roman Catholic Church and remains a staple of many Catholic school curricula. Nevertheless, nearly all contemporary middle-school and high-school Latin texts are focused on the language and literature of Classical paganism, with academic study of later ecclesiastical developments generally reserved for medievalists in graduate programs. In Latin for Roman Catholics, a Harvard-educated linguist and veteran Latin teacher finally offers a beginners' course steeped in the rich tradition of Catholic Latin literature, allowing students to encounter and understand Christian-era authors and liturgical texts normally reserved for the specialists, all while imparting a mastery of the language that I have found to be more efficient and effective than the notoriously mediocre selection of introductory textbook series otherwise available to instructors. Capps' innovative organization features a systematic but simple and to-the-point grammar (mercifully devoid of fluff), paired with a staged sequence of vocabulary geared toward the ecclesiastical corpus, all tied to primary-source passages of increasing complexity. The accompanying "answer key" is more than a grader's guide or cheat-sheet and is designed for active use by students in addition to faculty. Thus, it is an unusually powerful introduction to the language in its own right, but, more importantly, it complements the larger program of study in Catholic education systems more fruitfully than existing options. I've found it to be a pedagogical tour-de-force and highly recommend it, especially for Catholic-school Latin programs.

I’ve been teaching myself and my children Latin using Memoria Press products such as the Forms series and also Henle Latin. I bought this because I wanted more Catholic content and a local school uses this, so I thought it would be good. It is horribly organized, does not explain well, and does not give enough practice for mastery of the grammar or vocabulary. I have worked through the Latin grammar in those other books and understand it pretty well, but even given that background, I found this teaching confusing. If I were using this to learn Latin, I would be so lost.I love that the exercises are excerpts from Christian writings, and given my instruction from other sources, I am able to use this to expand my Christian Latin, but unlike Henle, it does not give near enough exercises to absorb the language.I have no idea how middle schoolers are supposed to master the Latin grammar using this book. I may use it with my youngest (the only one not past Latin grammar yet, as a supplement for additional translation practice, but I would not consider this a primary course in Latin grammar.

I love the simplicity. Most Latin grammars give you super in depth details. It is great, but it is easy to get bogged down in the amount of information all at once. As a traditionalist Roman Catholic, I love the traditions and the Latin language that is part of the rich culture. I love how this book is geared towards specifically Catholics. Other resources focus on classical Latin, or a mix of classical and ecclesiastical Latin. The only downside is that in the exercises, it doesn't say whether or not the quotes are from saints. Or, more like they don't include "St" or "saint". But overall, great book and very simple and specifically Catholic

As a student of Dr. Thomas Capps for three years, I know that this book is a very thorough instructional guide to learning Latin. The chapters are arranged so that you build off of the knowledge in the previous chapters. The vocab in the back of the book helps with any questions that one may have while translating the Latin sentences.

The book is for learning liturgical Catholic Latin--almost all the readings (and vocabulary) are explicitly religious and most are liturgical. It is great for Catholics interested in learning Church Latin, but not so much for secular Latin students. The grammar is clear and concise. The one issue I have is that the Answer Key is not included in the main book. The Answer Key is absolutely essential in order to learn from the book--you can’t learn without it, because the readings are the primary illustrations for the grammar. It makes you buy a second book, but it’s definitely worth it, because these are the best books out there for someone interested learning liturgical Latin.