Transcript The Story of Vatican II

The Story of
Vatican II
Chronology, Set-up,
Rules, Governance
& Gossip
Church history
325
JC
1517
Today
Under Constantine
The Reformation
The
Founding
Period
Jesus:
Encounter
Adults
Catechumenate
Enthusiastic
faith!
The
Creed
Carolingian reforms
Lateran Councils
Vatican I
Newman
Leo XIII
Baptism with no formation
Less personal faith
More “membership”
Rapid growth in ever-larger parishes
Minimum “obligations” – threat of Hell
Conversion
www.PastoralPlanning.com
Church history
325
1959
JC
The
Founding
Period
Today
John XXIII
a new vision
ecumenical in
spirit & scope
filled with hope
www.PastoralPlanning.com
Church history
325
1517
JC
The
Founding
Period
Today
Ressourcement:
Return to the sources
and let them teach you.
“Restoration”
1959
John XXIII
Church history
325
1517
JC
Today
The
Founding
Period
1959
John XXIII
Aggiornamento:
Read the signs of the times
and bring yourself up to date!
How the Council worked:
325
1517
JC
Today
The
Founding
Period
1958
John XXIII
Doctrine develops:
Allow the development or
evolution of church teaching
Dei Verbum #8
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How the Council worked:
325
Ressourcement
1517
JC
Today
The
Founding
Period
Doctrine develops
Aggiornamento
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The Universal Call
to Holiness
What was restored?
The
Call to an Encounter with
Christ
36
From the early centuries
The Mass
Baptism
Scripture
Ecumenism
The Catechumenate (RCIA)
The Option for the Poor
And, the BIGGEE
1965
An adult church
Christ-centered:
conversion is the aim
Lifelong learning:
formation is the aim
Leading to the transformation
of the world
Church history
Christocentric
325
1517
JC
Today
Under Constantine
The Reformation
The
Founding
Period
Jesus:
Encounter
Adults
Household size
Catechumenate
Enthusiastic
faith!
The
Creed
Vatican I
Carolingian reforms
Lateran Councils
Newman
Leo XIII
Baptism with no formation
Less personal faith
More “membership”
Rapid growth in ever-larger parishes
Minimum “obligations” – threat of Hell
Conversion
Ecclesiocentric
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October to Christmas, 1958
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John XXIII to Domenico Tardini
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Secretary of State
The signs of the times aren’t good
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Half the world ruled by Marxism
Latin American beset by poverty, disease
and illiteracy
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but nominally Catholic
short of clergy
Troubled waters…
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Signs of the times…
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Africa a victim of nationalism
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Western Europe
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equated Christianity with colonialism
30% still communicants
far fewer at Mass
North America
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secularism becoming widespread
immigrant period ended
The whole world
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The world was on the brink of war
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Cuban missile crisis in the early 1960s
Khrushchev at the UN:
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Cold war raging
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We will bury you.
Nuclear threat
Another world war seemed likely
John wondered: where is the Church?
Christianity itself
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Signs of the times…
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Divided Christianity a real scandal for John
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Freud
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God is an illusion
Marx
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East-West
Protestant-Catholic
God is a tool of the ruling class to keep you in line: The
Opiate of the Masses
Nietzsche
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God is dead
Within the church
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Within the Church
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Undone work of Vatican I
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Collegiality
Creeping Infallibility & Curial control
Legalism – more important to be right than to
be loving
Intimidation of bishops and theologians
Rigidity
The Jerusalem Bible – 1957 in Paris
What could be done?
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How could a church
so completely entrenched in the work of
Trent and Vatican I
renew itself for these times?
In the words of John XXIII
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“Our soul was illumined
by a great idea
which we felt in that instant
and received with indescribable trust
in the Divine Master.
A word solemn and binding rose to our
lips:
‘A Council!’”
Jan 25, 1959
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At St Paul Outside the
Walls
17 Cardinals
After Mass…
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A Synod for the Diocese of
Rome
A Commission to revise
Canon Law
An Ecumenical Council of the
Universal Church,
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with all Christians invited as
observers
Basilica San Paolo
Fuori le Mura
Jan 25, 1959
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“Humanly we could have
expected
that the cardinals
after hearing our allocution
might have crowded around
to express approval and good
wishes…
Instead there was a devout
and impressive silence…”
What John wanted
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No new doctrine defined
No condemnations
3 Major Questions were on
his mind
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The power of bishops
Christian unity
Help the Church penetrate
the consciousness of
modern humankind
Preparation
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Mater & Magister
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25,000 words
Blueprint for social justice
Asks industrial nations to help
underdeveloped ones
Workers’ rights
Under-read and under-implemented by the
Church itself (my view)
Preparation
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Meetings with Anglican and Protestant
leaders
Also with Jews
Communists
Augustin Bea SJ
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Secretariat for Promoting Xpian Unity
“Separated Brethren”
Preparation
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Letter to the world’s bishops, abbots,
and certain others
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No women were consulted
8972 propositions
1539 pages of material
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All in Latin
10 Commissions; 2 Secretariats
68 final distilled propositions
Preparation
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Pope John set the final agenda
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with only 10 propositions
Certain ideas came to the top:
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Vernacular
Restored deaconate & lay ministry
Religious liberty
Collegiality
Liturgy
Scripture
Moving to Rome
Moving to Rome
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2908 eligible bishops & abbots
2000 average daily attendance
2392 highest one day attendance
Very international crowd of bishops
450 theologians
1000 reporters
Hundreds of Protestants & Anglicans
Thousands of pilgrims
Convents, abbeys, houses packed full of religious
The bishops of the world
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Immense, nearly impossible task
70 schemas
2000 pages of material
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The Curia tried to swamp the boat
Many became chapters
Some were unsuitable in the first place
Solitude, isolation before the beginning
Credentials hard to get
The bishops of the world
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They were “herded like cattle” from one
office to the next
Not welcome in Rome
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This quickly drove them to each other
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Both for housing
As well as work
The bishops of the world
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Many had never met each other before
Many had never been to Rome!
800 bishops of color, mainly from poor
nations
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Appointed under Pius
The Curia then never thought these would
be the ones directing the Church
The bishops of the world
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Much to learn
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Progress on Biblical Studies
Liturgical renewal already underway
New trust in theologians meant they could
now read (legally) items heretofore banned
A pastoral climate was emerging
Conversion to deeper intimacy with Christ
John’s Opening Speech
Cardinal Newman’s Via Media
As taken up by John XXIII and Vatican II
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Priest (one who
prays) Worship
Prophet (the
teacher) Education
King (servant king)
Governance
Work for justice
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Superstition (magic,
wild ideas)
Rationalism (law,
rubric, principle)
Tyranny
(domineering
attitudes)
Anger (we become
what we fight to
end)
The Speech
Oct 11, 1962
Opening Mass of the Council
Tridentine Latin Mass
Only the presider and the pope
received communion
People were chatting, coming and
going, a bit of boredom & fatigue
The idea of the Council
did not ripen in me
as the fruit of long
meditation but came forth
like the flower of an
unexpected spring.
Blessed John XXIII
Blessed John XXIII
The Council?
I expect a little fresh air from it.
We must shake off the imperial dust
that has accumulated on the throne
of St. Peter since Constantine.
We must become a church of pastors,
not a society of rulers.
Opening Speech of John XXIII
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A distinction
Authentic traditions
in harmony with the inner nature
of the church and her sacraments
and
Dated routine
added at some point in history
For example
Authentic tradition
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Bread and wine at the
Eucharist
Water at Baptism
The ancient prayers of
the liturgy
Assembling and
praying on the Lord’s
day
Dated routine
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Latin
Benediction
Precise formulas of
prayer or actions
Praying devotions and
rosaries during Mass
The communion rail
cloth
Opening Speech of John XXIII
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Doctrine develops over time
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Not all that the Gospel demands of us has
yet been fully revealed to us (John XXIII)
Distinction between:
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Revealed truth - which does not change
The language in which we express it which must change in every generation in
order to remain true
In sum...
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Vatican II changed no authentic
traditions
And it changed no doctrines
It condemned no one and no group
And it welcomed all Christians and
Jews into dialogue
Operations
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Speeches
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Anyone could speak
They had to stay on topic
10 minutes max
Submit 36 hours beforehand in writing in
Latin
Germans
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Printing presses
Operations
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Voting
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Everyone had one vote, no matter their
rank
Computer with punch cards
1.5 million ballots during the four sessions
Text tampering
Multiple schemas
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Confusion, fatigue, boredom
Operations
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9 AM to noonish – in session
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Latin
Coffee bars
Afternoons in committee or class
Evenings
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Semi-public speeches
Big crowds – the whole church!
Roof top parties – vino, salami & theology