ADVENT SERIES – DIGNITY/NY REMEMBERING THE

SESSION ONE: INTRODUCTION:

The Second Vatican Council was the 22nd Ecumenical Council of the Roman Church, which met in , with the general meetings taking place in St. Peter’s Basilica. It met in four periods – in the autumn of 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965 – for ten weeks in each session. The first period was under the leadership of Pope John XXIII; the other three under the direction of Pope Paul VI.

It discussed a wide range of topics. Some of the more hotly debated concerns were:

1. Use of Latin in the liturgy – which eventually evolved beyond the language issue to one of full participation of the whole assembly in the liturgy – not just a “clerical” thing.

2. The relationship between tradition and scripture with wider implications for Biblical exegesis and the role of prior doctrinal statements in the development of doctrine.

3. The relationship to the Jews, to other Christians, and to non‐Christian religions.

4. Religious liberty and the role of individual conscience in the life of a person.

5. The relationship between bishops and the Pope, i.e. collegiality

6. The role of the laity in the Church

7. The role of the Church in the world

In all of these issues there was a consistent 10 to 15% minority which objected to what eventually emerged from the council.

In addition, there were four issues that were viewed by both Popes (both John XXIII and Paul VI) to be so explosive and divisive that they were withheld from consideration by the Council. These included:

1. Clerical celibacy, 2. Birth Control, 3. Reform of the Curia, and 4. the idea of a Synod of Bishops

Underneath all of these issues there were three over‐arching issues:

A. The circumstances under which change in the church is appropriate and the arguments with which it can be justified – development of doctrine (Cardinal Newman) and (John XXIII, up‐ dating)

B. The relationship in the Church of the “center to the periphery” – how authority is properly distributed between the papacy and the rest of the Church – vis‐à‐vis Bishops: collegiality

C. The style or model according to which that authority should be exercised – dialogue, the pastoral approach, openness to the Spirit working in the world (as opposed to the judicial, juridical and legislative model) In other words, all issues about identity – how to maintain one’s identity while dealing with the inevitability of change; and then how to make it effective in new but recognizably authentic ways. In redefining that identity the Second Vatican Council was seen as …

1. The end of the Constantinian Era; 2. The End of Medieval Christendom; 3. The End of the Reformation/Counter‐Reformation; 4. The End of what Fr. Murray calls “The Long nineteenth century”.

The council concluded by issuing 16 documents. A listing of these documents give a good overview of the major topics, discussed, debated and promulgated by the Church Fathers.

It issued four Constitutions:

1. On Sacred Liturgy 2. On the Church 3. On Divine Revelation 4. On the Church in the Modern World

It issued nine Decrees

1. On the Mass Media 2. On the Catholic Eastern Churches 3. On Ecumenism 4. On Bishops 5. On the Renewal of Religious Life 6. On the Training of Priests 7. On the Apostolate of the Laity 8. On Missionary Activity 9. On the Ministry and Life of Priests

It promulgated three declarations

1. On Christian Education 2. On Non‐Christian Religions 3. On Religious Liberty

[Note: The standard English‐language commentary on these documents is Herbert Vorgrimler, ed. “Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II”, 5 vols. (New York: Herder and Herder, 1967‐1969). Helpful and reader friendly is Adrian Hastings, ed. “A Concise Guide to the Documents of the Second Vatican Council” 2 vols. (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1968‐1969)]

In the end, FUNDAMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COUNCIL was that it marked the end of Western Christianity.

VATICAN COUNCIL II COMPARED TO PRIOR COUNCILS:

Of the twenty one ecumenical councils held prior to Vatican, they can be broken down into two groups.

The first 8 councils were all held in Greek cities; were conducted in Greek; were convoked by the Emperor; no Pope attended any of them; Western influence itself often small and rarely determinative. [Constantine called the first: Council of Nicea 325 – to confront the Arian heresy; Constantinople IV the last – to deal with the Photian schism.]

The remaining 13 were all held in the West; were conducted in Latin; were convoked by the Pope (with the exception of the Council of Constance); the Eastern church was basically absent

They were the SAME in that they were all assemblies principally of Bishops that made authorative decisions binding on the whole Church. But other than that Vatican II was absolutely UNIQUE.

First it had a number of unique characteristics: its massive size (considered the largest MEETING ever held); its remarkable international breadth (it had participants from all over the globe); the scope and variety of issues it addressed (It was not simply limited to “solving a problem” as the other councils).

In addition there were some new elements: a. the decision to admit non‐Catholic observers (some 182 by the last session) was unprecedented. b. the role of the media: the ill‐kept secret and sometimes acrid debates and confrontations in the council made headlines daily. What intrigued everyone was the merging possibility of change in posture and practice within the Church that just a few months before seemed set in stone attracted wide attention and admiration from around the world c. the decisions reached had immediate impact. For example: on Nov 29, 1964 (48 years ago tomorrow) the first Sunday of Advent, when believers went to Church, for the first time they heard it in their own language. d. in the past decisions were directed basically to the clergy. Vatican II was addressed to literally EVERYONE. In fact, for the first time, it was addressed to the whole world.

Secondly, the Second Vatican Council embodied three grand theological themes:

A. aggiornamento (up‐dating, modernizing) – dealing with the present B. development (unfolding, evolution) – dealing with the future C. ressourcement (return to the sources ) – dealing with the past

This was in stark contrast to the classicist world view that saw human living in static, abstract and immutable terms.

Thirdly, the Second Vatican Council broke with the two fundamental assumptions of all previous councils. These assumptions were … …that councils were judicial bodies that heard cases and rendered judgment, with anybody found guilty duly punished.

…that councils were legislative bodies that issued ordinances to which were attached as with any laws penalties for failure to comply.

The result: prior Councils always ended with CANONS (e.g. the Council of Trent had 135 canons). And each canon by its very nature did not deal with what a person may believe, think or feel – but at what they “say” or “do” – observable behavior; with each canon based on “power words” – threats, intimidation, surveillance, punishments – words of a superior speaking to an inferior.

Vatican II was entirely different in issuing its Constitutions, Decrees and Declarations. It issued no canons, no anathemas, no verdicts of “guilty as charged”

Fourth, the Second Vatican Council also abandoned the more recent scholastic approach: it moved from the dialectic of winning an argument to the dialogue of finding common ground; it moved from abstract metaphysics to interpersonal conversation; it moved from grand conceptual schemes (summae) to the humble acceptance of mystery; it developed a ‘pastoral’ language which is the panegyric: the painting of an idealized portrait in order to inspire and excite admiration and appropriation; its goal is the winning of internal assent, not the imposition of conformity from without.

Fifth, the Second Vatican Council gave birth to a whole new set of words, words that had never been used by a council before; and in fact words that had never been used by the papacy, the Curia, or any other official documents.

1. horizontal words (equity words): the people of God, brothers and sisters, the priesthood of all believers

2. words of reciprocity: collegiality, cooperation, partnership, collaboration, dialogue, conversation

3. humility words: pilgrim Church, servant

4. change words: development, progress, evolution

5. empowerment words: call‐to‐action, participation

6. interiority words: charism, joy, hope, grief, anguish, conscience, inward journey, call to holiness

THESE THEN BECOME THE WORDS THAT EMBODY THE ‘SPIRIT” OF VATICAN II.

VATICAN COUNCIL II AS THE ‘BIG MEETING’

1. CALLING THE COUNCIL

Most cardinals and theologians were stunned by the announced council – because they thought there would never be a need for one. After the , the Pope could solve all problems.

John XXIII had two aims when he announced it:

a. to promote the enlightenment, edification and joy of the entire Christian people

b. to extend a renewed cordial invitation to the faithful of the separated communities to participate with us in this quest for unity and grace, for which so many souls long for in all parts of the world.

In his diary he noted that he intended the council as an invitation to spiritual renewal for the Church and for the world.

2. PREPARING FOR THE COUNCIL

There were two phases to the preparation of the Council:

Phase 1 starting in May, 1959 (done by June 4, 1960) with the establishment of the Ante‐Preparatory Commission had the task of collecting from the Bishops of the world what issues should be discussed and actions to be taken.

A letter was sent out to all clerics with the rank of bishop or higher and the superior‐generals of the religious orders of men. In part in read …

“The Venerable Pontiff wants to know the opinions or views and to obtain the suggestions and wishes of their excellencies, the bishops and prelates who are summoned by law (Canon 223) to take part in the ecumenical council … These will be most useful in preparing the topics to be discussed at the council.”

Also asked for suggestions were the carious offices of the Curia and institutions of higher learning that held papal charters – in the US: The Catholic University of America.

It was sent out to 2598 ecclesiastics with 1998 (77%) responding. The shortest response was six lines from the Bishop of Wollongong in Australia. The longest response: twenty seven pages from the Cardinal Archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico. In all 5000 pages of suggestions were sent in and filled twelve volumes.

Phase 2 then established Ten Preparatory Commissions (paralleling the ten major Curial departments) with a Central Preparatory Commission to oversee these) and had the task of taking all these ideas, sifting through them, organizing them and then formulating texts to be presented to the council fathers for discussion and debate. It was also at this time that John XXIII also established a Secretariat for Christian Unity at this time – whose job was to communicate with other Christian bodies. Later it would become part of the Curia.

Each commission was made up of members (with at least rank of Bishop – who could vote) and consulters (the periti) – altogether some 850 clerics worked for two years producing seven volumes of text. [Note: the Council itself was to produce 32 volumes of documents many of which ran more than 900 pages.]

3. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL:

On July 15, 1962 2850 invitations were sent out to persons with a right to participate fully: 85 cardinals; 8 patriarchs; 533 archbishops; 2,131 bishops, 26 abbots and 68 superior generals . All but a few hundred showed up the first day – at any given time 2400 Council Fathers were in attendance. Average age of the participants was 60. Between the first and last sessions 253 Council Fathers died and 296 new ones were added. They came from 116 different countries ‐ 36% from Europe; 34% from the Americas; 20% from Asian and Oceania; 10% from Africa. North America (US, Canada, Mexico) were somewhat over‐represented with 12% of the bishops.

Each Council Father brought with him a secretary, a theological consultant () or both – in addition, John XXIII appointed an additional 484 periti to help the various committees

In total there were about 7500 people in attendance.

4. STRUCTURE OF THE MEETINGS:

There were two types of meetings:

Public Sessions – which were basically ceremonial. There were 10 Public Sessions – 4 Opening Sessions; 4 Closing Session and 2 Special Sessions

General Congregations – which were the actual working sessions. There were a total of 168 meetings over the four periods.

The Father of the Council began each General Congregation at 9:00 Am with Mass (in one of the 22 rites of the Church). They then worked in St. Peter’s basilica until mid‐day – listening to presentation, presenting amendments, discussion issues ‐ then adjourned. They would then spend the afternoon and evenings in individual meetings, regional meetings, national conferences and special interest groups.

5. THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL BEGINS

October 11, 1962: The Opening Ceremony was the most solemn and visually impressive event in the first few days – the procession consisted of 2500 clerics fully robed. It actually took an hour for them just to march in. The event was televised live. Mass celebrated by Cardinal Tisserant, Dean of the and at the end John XXIII spoke – “”. In this document he spoke of some of his hopes for the Council: a. he distanced himself and the Council from the “scolding and suspicious” approach to the world of his predecessors. b. the Church should proceed in a positive way making use of the medicine of mercy rather than of severity … demonstrating the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnation. c. the Church is to remain true to its message, yet at the same time by making appropriate changes and by the wise organization of mutual cooperation, the Church will make individuals, families, and people really turn their minds to heavenly things.

October 13, 1962 – First Working Session

The set agenda was to chose who would make up the Ten Council Commissions (paralleling the 10 Preparatory Commissions) – who would then be responsible for the preparation, presentation and revision of the major documents with which the council would deliberate. The Bishops were given the names of all the bishops present from which they were to choose 160 (16 per commission) – the General Commission had been appointed by the Pope. They were also given the names of the people who had been on these Preparatory Commissions. They were also given by Cardinal Ottaviani (Head of the Holy Office) a list of bishops he thought would be suitable for the job. This was interpreted by the bishops as manipulation by the Curia.

After the opening Mass, Archbishop Felici (Secretary General of the Council) announced that elections would begin immediately. Pandemonium broke out – bishops did not know what to do – they were shouting across the basilica to friends conferring on who they should choose. Cardinal Achille Lienart of Lille (one of the 10 presiding presidents of the council) suggested a “few days” delay so the bishops could get to know each other and so episcopal conferences would have a change to meet and confer. This motion was seconded by Cardinal of – and there was a spontaneous outburst of applause. So after only one hour the meeting adjourned. This was the first note that the Council would run its own way – not as planned by the Curia.

Afterwards Cardinal Siri of Geno (Curia) commented that he regarded this as a maneuver directed more subconsciously by a certain antipathy to the Curia – which arose from ‘the eternal inferiority complex which the Northerners have in their relations with Rome.” He wrote in his diary: The devil has had a hand in this.

A few days then followed with all kinds of confusion. The “Regulations” were a listing of the rules of conduct for the Council. But they were not very clear nor were they very good in settling disputes.

Oct 16 – Second Working Session

Voting took place and the 10 Committee members selected. Ironically most of the same names appeared on the new list of commission membership as on the old – 64 new names had been added. However there were some important additions: Cardinal Konig and Cardinal Leger; Bishop Charu of Belgian – all selected for the Doctrinal Commission. They were to be the leaders of the “liberal” view in the Council John XXIII then intervened and added more names to geographically balance the commissions. He would do so again in November and Paul VI would eventually increase each commission to 30.

October 20 – Third Working Session

Now that the committees had been chosen, the agenda turned to addressing the first document ‐ “On the Sacred Liturgy”. But before the deliberations began a group of bishops decided that they wanted to issue “a message to the world” from the Council – something that had never happened before. Discussion of the text of the message then took up the whole day’s session.

October 22 – Fourth Working Session

Finally the Father got down to discussing the document on the Liturgy. More to come ….