Upvote:1
All ordained priests until recently have been required to be able to read, write, and speak Latin, and to be able to study and to pass examinations in Philosophy, Theology, and Liturgy conducted in Latin, which requires an advanced level of fluency in that language. Although some of the monks who were lay brothers might indeed have been intellectually challenged, the ordained priests among the monks would have been intellectually quite competent.
Upvote:3
Yes, one of the functions of monasteries (and convents) were as places to care for sick and disabled people, as part of their religious mission. This function helped set the precedent for today's hospitals.