Church Councils and Vatican II

Fifty years ago, the second Vatican ecumenical council commenced on October 11 1962. An ecumenical council gathers representatives of the world-wide church, mainly bishops, to consult about important aspects of Church life and teaching. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires the calling of an ecumenical council. Of his decision to call the second council to be held in the Vatican, Pope John XXIII wrote in his spiritual journal, “The various initiatives of a pastoral character which mark this first stage of my papal apostolate have all come to me as pure, tranquil, loving, I might even say silent, inspirations from the Lord, speaking to the heart of his poor servant ...”

The College of Bishops, in union with the Pope, is the highest authority of the which “exercises its power over the universal Church in a solemn form in an Ecumenical Council” (Can. 336-337 in the Church’s ‘Code of Canon Law’).

The Catholic Church recognises twenty-one councils, usually named after places where they were held. The earliest councils clarified the church’s understanding of the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, eventually formulating the Nicene Creed. Other councils responded to problems faced by the Church. The Council of Trent in 1545-1563 followed the Protestant Reformation. After Trent, many Church leaders wanted to protect the Church from the world. In the mid 1800s, the first Vatican Council began to address issues relating to the roles and authority of the pope and bishops, but it was suspended when Napolean III’s withdrawal of troops from Rome, during war between France and Germany, left the city without protection.

Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: 1. Nicaea I 325 2. Constantinople I 381 3. Ephesus 431 4. Chalcedon 451 5. Constantinople II 553 6. Constantinope III 680 7. Nicaea II 787 8. Constantinope IV 869 9. Lateran I 1123 10. Lateran II 1139 11. Lateran III 1179 12. Lateran IV 1215 13. Lyons I 1245 14. Lyons II 1274 15. Vienne 1311 16. Constance 1414-18 17. Florence 1431-45 (also known as Basel-Ferrara-Florence-Rome) 18. Lateran V 1512-17 19. Trent 1545-63 20. Vatican I 1869-70 21. Vatican II 1962-65 (Fr Max Vodola, A Friendly Guide to Vatican II p 5)

In 1958, Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, aged 77, became Pope John XXIII. Born of a very poor Italian family, he had ministered to poor and multicultural communities in Bulgaria, in Istanbul, in Turkey, Paris and Venice, working among other Christian traditions and communities of different faiths, including Jews and Muslims. Through two world wars and the emergence of a modern world, he remained in respectful dialogue with people of widely varying backgrounds, needs and circumstances, gaining a reputation as a courageous and wise man. As pope, he broke tradition by leaving the Vatican to visit Rome’s prison and making pilgrimages to holy places. He was well known for his profound love of the Church and loyalty to her traditions, so that when he recognised his quiet inspiration to call an ecumenical council as the work of the Holy Spirit, he also knew it was a continuation of that love and loyalty.

In January 1959 Pope John called a pastoral council to speak to men and women of the world. The central goals of the Council were; aggiornamento (updating) and ressourcement (return to sources), to renew the Church’s apostolate and mission to the world. There was to be a return to the sources of Church life and teaching, especially Sacred Scripture – the Word of God – and the Church’s living tradition, in order to express these anew to modern generations and to enable the Church to bring forward foundational teachings to address contemporary issues. This was a kind of ‘going back’, a process of rediscovery, in order to go forward, living afresh according to the Gospel and truest, core teachings and traditions of the Church.

It was from this time that members of many religious orders rediscovered the life, stories, teachings and unique expressions of the Gospel (the charisms) of their founders. This would help them to live their charisms more deeply, and to express the visions of their founders in ways that could respond to the needs and circumstances brought by the modern world.

Preparation for the Council, including drafting of many documents, took many years. As the Council began, the bishops had a time of retreat – silence, reflection and prayer. The Pope prepared with a personal retreat. In his opening address for the 2nd Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII spoke of his hopes and prayed for the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.

Some expected a short Council. Prepared documents would be approved and everyone would go home. The bishops, however, put aside 69 of 70 prepared drafts. New discussions began. Bishops, superiors of male religious orders and invited observers (delegates from other Christian churches) met for four major sessions during 1962-1965: Oct 11 – Dec 8 1962; Sept 29 – Dec 4 1963; Sept 14-Nov 21, 1964 and Sept 14-Dec 8 1965. Auditors were invited from the laity and religious orders from the second session. The first female lay auditor was Australian, Rosemary Goldie (who died in 2010, aged 94, at the Little Sisters of the Poor, Randwick). Outside main sessions there were meetings of Commissions, or working groups, supported by expert theologians chosen by bishops.

The world had not long seen the end of a devastating and destructive world war, ending with news of a vast holocaust and the dropping of atomic bombs. The 1960s brought new tensions. A ‘Cold War’ and superpower controlled nuclear weapons kept the world in a state of high alert. Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris, ‘Peace on Earth’, written in 1963, still has much to say to the world today.

Pope John XXIII was diagnosed with cancer, fairly early in the story of the Council. He died on June 3rd 1963. Cardinal Montini, as Pope Paul VI, decided the Council must continue. He oversaw its continuation and early stages of the implementation of its teachings. In 1964 he travelled to the Holy Land, the first pope to do so for a long time. He met with the Greek Orthodox Church leader, Athenagoras, Patriarch of Constantinople. Relationships between religious traditions, religious freedom, evangelisation in the modern world and social communication would be key themes during his pontificate.

The solemnly closed on 8 Dec 1965 after publishing documents which we have yet to depth. The four most important, the ‘Constitutions’, focused on; Liturgy, Revelation (including the Bible), The Church and The Church in the Modern World. ‘Decrees’ presented ways to apply principles presented in Constitutions, addressing; Ecumenism, Catholic Eastern Churches, Social Communication, The Pastoral Office of Bishops, Training of Priests, Ministry & Life of Priests, Renewal of Religious Life, The Apostolate of Lay People and the Church’s Missionary Activity. ‘Declarations’ addressed; Principles & Guidelines for expressing the thought of the Church with regard to the Relationship of the Church to Non Christian Religions, Religious Liberty and Christian Education. The Council also proposed the formation of a synods (gatherings) of bishops and other appointees to consult with the pope when needed in the future. The Vatican synod of October 7- 28 2012 to discuss “New Evangelisation”, will include 29 women among 94 experts and observers,In the post Vatican II era, new world developments resulted in further documents for different needs. One of the most famous of these was Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975, on the Church’s mission of evangelisation “to proclaim the Gospel to contemporary men and women.”

Reflecting in his spiritual journal on the ‘Descent of the Holy Spirit” in the Mysteries of the Rosary, Blessed Pope John XXIII wrote of his prayer for the Council: “The Council must succeed in being a new Pentecost of faith, of the apostolate, of extra-ordinary graces for the welfare of men, and the peace of the world.”

Find documents of the Vatican II Council, Pope John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris and Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nunciandi at: www.vatican.va and Rosemary Goldie’s story at: http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/features/2010/201031_1891.shtml

Lyn Breen, Adult Faith Education Sandhurst