Checking the church’s compass 50 years after the council
The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council opened 50 years ago this past week, and the anniversary offers an opportunity to go and read the actual council documents. The meaning of the council continues to be a source of debate . . .
The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council opened 50 years ago this past week, and Prepare the Word editor Joel Schorn suggests the anniversary offers “a good opportunity to go back and read the actual council documents.” Commentators point out that the meaning and implications of the council continue to be a source of debate among Catholics to this day.
When Pope John XXIII called the council half a century ago, he said he wanted to “open the windows” of the church to respond to the rapid changes in the modern world. Within a few years, a number of dramatic changes indeed took effect affecting every area of church life, from liturgy to leadership to interfaith relations.
Now, as the church marks the 50th anniversary of the council’s opening, some progressives are concerned to see the direction taken by current church leaders, with the Latin Mass being encouraged in some quarters, women altar servers discouraged, and obedience encouraged more often than collegial decision making. Some see a resurgence of pre-Vatican II customs as a betrayal of the council’s spirit. Others argue it corrects what they seem as excesses taken in applying the council’s teachings.
The key to understanding this fault line may lie in understanding the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI, seen these days as an advocate of conservative renewal but as a reformer during the council. Today “he says the council was a good thing, but not a big turn in the road,” said Father John O’Malley, S.J., a historian at Georgetown University and author of What Happened At Vatican II.
That’s not the way it felt at the time, historians point out. The council expressed the surging optimism of the early 1960s and attracted worldwide media attention. John XXIII’s call for aggiornamento, or “bringing up to date,” at the council was taken to heart by progressive bishops.
Benedict XVI, who attended the Council as a young German theology professor, was a leading light in the reform camp and agreed with most of its conclusions. But in the coming decades he didn’t like what he perceived to be “all the tampering with the liturgy” and turned more conservative over time, said O’Malley.
Benedict’s conservative line has won support in some quarters of the church, including from some young people discovering traditions for the first time. Most Catholics, however, continue to choose to attend Mass in the newer liturgy.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, a fellow German with more moderate views who served Benedict as his top official for relations with other Christian churches, drew a mixed picture of where the council stands in present Vatican policy. “Many impulses from the council . . . have only been realized halfway,” he wrote in late September. “The post-conciliar popes have called the council a sure compass for the church’s path in the 21st century,” Kasper said. “But the compass needle is still swinging nervously.”
In comments October 10 on the eve of opening the Year of Faith, the pope said, “Today marks the eve of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. I remember well the enthusiasm, the hope and the joy, not only of the bishops but of the whole church during that period.
“As we begin tomorrow the Year of Faith, it is more necessary than ever to return to the documents of this great council, which was convoked, in the words of Blessed John XXIII, to proclaim the truths of the faith in a ‘renewed’ way, all the while keeping intact their perennial content.”
Homily hint: Jesus’ call for a servant model of leadership provides a perfect entrée for preaching on the spirit of collegiality, a central tenant of the council. And the council documents are filled with great material for homily reflections and religious education programs. The Vatican’s collection of the council documents in English, Spanish, and other languages are available online.
When Pope John XXIII called the council half a century ago, he said he wanted to “open the windows” of the church to respond to the rapid changes in the modern world. Within a few years, a number of dramatic changes indeed took effect affecting every area of church life, from liturgy to leadership to interfaith relations.
Now, as the church marks the 50th anniversary of the council’s opening, some progressives are concerned to see the direction taken by current church leaders, with the Latin Mass being encouraged in some quarters, women altar servers discouraged, and obedience encouraged more often than collegial decision making. Some see a resurgence of pre-Vatican II customs as a betrayal of the council’s spirit. Others argue it corrects what they seem as excesses taken in applying the council’s teachings.
The key to understanding this fault line may lie in understanding the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI, seen these days as an advocate of conservative renewal but as a reformer during the council. Today “he says the council was a good thing, but not a big turn in the road,” said Father John O’Malley, S.J., a historian at Georgetown University and author of What Happened At Vatican II.
That’s not the way it felt at the time, historians point out. The council expressed the surging optimism of the early 1960s and attracted worldwide media attention. John XXIII’s call for aggiornamento, or “bringing up to date,” at the council was taken to heart by progressive bishops.
Benedict XVI, who attended the Council as a young German theology professor, was a leading light in the reform camp and agreed with most of its conclusions. But in the coming decades he didn’t like what he perceived to be “all the tampering with the liturgy” and turned more conservative over time, said O’Malley.
Benedict’s conservative line has won support in some quarters of the church, including from some young people discovering traditions for the first time. Most Catholics, however, continue to choose to attend Mass in the newer liturgy.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, a fellow German with more moderate views who served Benedict as his top official for relations with other Christian churches, drew a mixed picture of where the council stands in present Vatican policy. “Many impulses from the council . . . have only been realized halfway,” he wrote in late September. “The post-conciliar popes have called the council a sure compass for the church’s path in the 21st century,” Kasper said. “But the compass needle is still swinging nervously.”
In comments October 10 on the eve of opening the Year of Faith, the pope said, “Today marks the eve of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. I remember well the enthusiasm, the hope and the joy, not only of the bishops but of the whole church during that period.
“As we begin tomorrow the Year of Faith, it is more necessary than ever to return to the documents of this great council, which was convoked, in the words of Blessed John XXIII, to proclaim the truths of the faith in a ‘renewed’ way, all the while keeping intact their perennial content.”
Homily hint: Jesus’ call for a servant model of leadership provides a perfect entrée for preaching on the spirit of collegiality, a central tenant of the council. And the council documents are filled with great material for homily reflections and religious education programs. The Vatican’s collection of the council documents in English, Spanish, and other languages are available online.
Source: An article by Tom Henegen for Reuters