Whether you
lived through the updating and changes brought by Vatican II, were born shortly
after, or consider it ancient history, all of today’s Catholics are affected by
this important council. Read Father Berard Doerger’s Top 10 List of
achievements of the Council. Consider how well you and your parish have
embraced these changes. Accept the challenge “to continue to grow in
acquaintance, appreciation, and admiration” of the Council’s teachings and its
vision for the people of God.
By: Berard Doerger, OFM
Each issue carries an
imprimatur from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Reprinting prohibited
Pope John XXIII announced the calling of the
Second Vatican Council to a group of cardinals on Sunday, January 25, 1959. As he
was returning to the Vatican
after this announcement, the crowds gathered along the Roman streets greeted him
with applause. Someone cried out: “Long live the ecumenical council!”
It has lived long,
some would say, but Vatican II is actually still in its infancy. Many profound
changes have occurred in the Catholic Church as a result of the Council and its
teachings. We must continue to grow in acquaintance, appreciation, and
admiration of the Second Vatican Council and its teachings in order to fully
embrace its vision for our Church.
Vatican II began on
October 11, 1962, and officially ended on December 8, 1965. Though the Council occurred
decades ago, it lives on in the way the Church is living, loving, and
worshiping in a life renewed by the foundations laid out in its 16 documents. These
documents cover almost all areas of the Catholic faith—our relationship with
God, with fellow Catholics, with other Christians and non-Christians, and with
all of creation.
The teachings in these
documents are grounded in sacred Scripture, and they present us with an updated
vision of the Church and its role in restoring all things in Christ. Pope
Benedict XVI has said of the documents of Vatican II, “[They] have not lost
their timelessness; their teachings have shown themselves to be especially
pertinent to the new needs of the Church and the present globalized society.”
Pope John Paul II referred to them as “a compass with which to orient ourselves
in the vast ocean of the third millennium.”
ECUMENICAL COUNCIL LIKE NO OTHER
Vatican II, the Church’s 21st ecumenical council,
will surely be remembered by historians as one of the most important and
influential in the history of the Church. The Council was an amazing event if
we consider the magnitude of its preparation, the number and diversity of its official
members (the “Fathers of the Council”), not to mention the other expert
theologians and observer delegates from all over the world. Particularly
amazing is the volume of its acta or
teachings! The Second Vatican Council easily surpasses every one of the previous
ecumenical councils of the Church.
WHAT THE COUNCIL ACHIEVED
How do we assess the impact of the Council? I’d
like to propose 10 remarkable achievements. These I consider the most important
and lasting fruits of Vatican II.- Renewing the liturgy. The Council’s
call for renewal included the Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, sacraments, and the
liturgical year. This liturgical renewal emphasized the Mass as the prayer
and sacrifice of priest and people
united in Christ, the call to active and intelligent participation by the
whole body of Christ, and openness to incorporating worthwhile customs and
traditions of every culture and people.
- Placing greater
emphasis on sacred Scripture. The Council called for a much fuller menu
of readings from both the Old and New Testaments in the Sunday and weekday
Lectionaries of the Church. Since the Council urged more study and reading
of Scripture, an impressive number of aids to the study of the Bible, as
well as an increase in Bible-study groups, has appeared on the scene.
- Viewing laypeople
as equal members of the Church. All the Church—pope, bishops, priests,
religious, and laity—are equal
members through Baptism. All share in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly
roles of Christ. All are called to holiness no matter what vocation or
occupation they embrace in life.
- Reinstating the baptismal
catechumenate. The Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is
“a process of formation” and “school of the faith” (General Directory for Catechesis 91) for unbaptized adults seeking
Church membership. The entire Christian community helps prepare
catechumens to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. It is the
inspiration and model for all catechesis (GDC 90).
- Restoring the
ministry of permanent deacons. Calling to restore the ministry of deacon,
a ministry of service with roots in the early Church, the Council named
the deacon’s tasks: baptize, reserve and distribute the Eucharist, assist
at and bless marriages, take Viaticum to the dying, proclaim Scripture,
instruct, preside at prayer, administer sacramentals, and officiate at funerals
and burials.
- Rethinking the
concept of authority. Viewed in the spirit of the Gospel,
authority is not authoritarianism and domination but a service of love in imitation of
Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for all.
- Encouraging
collegiality throughout the Church. Shared ministry and authority are
recognized between the pope and bishops, the bishop and priests of a
diocese, the pastor and parishioners of a parish, and the superiors and
members of religious orders and congregations.
- Acknowledging God’s
presence beyond the Church. Vatican II acknowledged the work of the
Spirit in the communities of our separated Christian brothers and sisters
and in other world religions. Ecumenical efforts foster unity among all
Christians and greater communication and dialogue with and respect for
other religions.
- Upholding the
right to religious liberty. The Council recognized the right of every
individual to join the religion of one’s choice and opposed the use of
force, physical or otherwise, imposing one’s religious beliefs and
practices upon others.
- Accepting the
world. We see the world and its inhabitants as essentially good. We never lose hope in the restoration of all
things, a restoration that has begun with the coming of Christ and will
reach its fulfillment and perfection when Christ comes again in power and
glory at the end of time.
Much growth in the
Church can be tied to the work of Vatican II, and more growth lies ahead as we
strive to fully embrace its vision for the people of God. May we continue the
renewal set out by Vatican II with the enthusiasm and commitment of the person
who greeted the announcement of the Council, saying: “Long live the ecumenical
council!”
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DOCUMENTS OF THE COUNCIL
In the four periods of the Council from 1962 to
1965, the Council Fathers produced 16 documents that are the teachings of the
Council. These touch on almost all areas and aspects of the Catholic Church and
its life and mission in the world. In volume, they surpass the acta, or teachings, of any previous council
of the Church.
Four
Constitutions
The teachings of these documents, theologically
speaking, are the most important.
- Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church is considered by most theologians as the most important or
foundational document of the Council. Calling Christ the “light of nations,”
the Council desires to shed the radiance of Christ, who brightens the face of
the Church, upon all.
- Dogmatic Constitution
on Divine Revelation deals with God’s revelation through sacred Scripture and sacred
Tradition, which together “make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God,
which is entrusted to the church” (10).
- Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy was the first document to be discussed in the Council and the
first promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1963. This document sought to undertake
“the reform and promotion of the liturgy” (1).
- Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World was the last
document to be completed by the Council and the lengthiest of all 16 documents.
It deals with the Church’s relationship with the world and all human
activity, which are viewed as essentially sacred and good, though able to
be abused and used for evil ends.
Nine
Decrees- Decree on the Pastoral
Office of Bishops in the Church
- Decree on the
Ministry and Life of Priests
- Decree on the Up-to-Date
Renewal of Religious Life
- Decree on the
Apostolate of Lay People
- Decree on the
Training of Priests
- Decree on the
Church’s Missionary Activity
- Decree on
Ecumenism
- Decree on the
Catholic Eastern Churches
- Decree on the Mass
Media
Three
Declarations- Declaration on
Christian Education
- Declaration on
the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions
- Declaration on
Religious Liberty
These last two are rather important. The former
indicates that “[God’s] providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend
to all humankind” and that “the Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy
in these religions” (1-2). Pope Paul VI described the Declaration on Religious Liberty as “one of the major texts of the
Council.”
+++++++++++++++++++
POPE JOHN XXIII AND VATICAN II
When Pope John XXIII was elected on October 28,
1958, at the age of 77, it was expected that he would be a short-term or
stopgap pope. Many were surprised when, less than three months after his election,
he called for a new ecumenical council. He was calling for something that would
dramatically change the Catholic world with which we were familiar.
When asked why the
Council was needed, Pope John reportedly opened a window and said, “I want to
throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can
see in.” He wanted to let in an abundance of “fresh air.”
The theme of the
Council was aggiornamento, which literally
meant to bring the Church up to date. When the pope opened the Council, he
expressed his optimistic spirit and outlook regarding what it could accomplish,
saying, “Mother Church rejoices that the Council has
finally begun!” He spoke of the benefits and blessings he foresaw flowing from
it. He understood, as well, that his optimistic view would not be shared by
everyone in the Church. He predicted that “prophets of doom” would appear, but
he begged “to disagree” with them.
Pope John went on to
say, “Nowadays the Spouse of Christ [the Church] prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than of
severity. She considers that she meets the needs of the present day by
demonstrating the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnation.”
The pope expounded on
the theme of the Church as a loving
Mother, rather than as a condemning
Father, saying, “The Catholic Church, raising the torch of religious truth
by means of this ecumenical council, desires to show herself the loving mother
of all—kind, patient, full of mercy and goodness toward the brothers and
sisters who are separated from her.”
Finally, the pope’s
speech dealt with ecumenism and the need to bring all separated Christians and
the whole human family into the unity of
one faith and one fold.
Blessed Pope John died
on June 3, 1963, between the first two sessions of the Council. His successor,
Pope Paul VI, was elected on June 21, 1963, and immediately called for the
Council’s continuation.
Franciscan
Father Berard Doerger is assistant pastor at the parish in Peña Blanca, New Mexico,
and the Pueblos of Santo Domingo, Cochiti, and San Felipe. He gives retreats,
parish missions, and workshops. He taught theology courses in the Diocese of
Gallup’s deacon formation and lay ministry programs.
NEXT: St. Thérèse’s ‘Little Way’: Our Guide through Lent by Carol Ann Morrow
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