"Vatican II was for him a response to God nudging him to reform and update the church, and to draw all Christians into greater unity for the sake of humankind and world peace. Like the apostles on the eve of Pentecost, he anticipated that something grand was about to unfold. Little did he know that the Holy Spirit would sweep into the church with such force.'
-Bill Hubesch
-Bill Hubesch
As we
listen to the media offer their analyses of Pope St. John XXIII’s legacy (likely to be reminiscent of the National Catholic Reporter editorial above), we would do well
to understand one false notion which has sown confusion among Catholics — Pope
John XXIII’s statement that the Second Vatican Council was to be a “pastoral”
council. We should not take this to mean that doctrine was henceforth to be
unimportant - after all, Pope Paul VI promulgated two dogmatic constitutions (on
the Church and on Divine Revelation), and there are numerous references to
dogmatic teaching in the pastoral constitutions of Vatican II. To clear up this
confusion it is best to read from the relevant portions of Pope John XXIII’s
address opening the council (bolded emphases mine):
In calling this vast assembly of bishops,
the latest and humble successor to the Prince of the Apostles who is addressing
you intended to assert once again the Magisterium (teaching authority), which
is unfailing and perdures until
the end of time, in order that
this Magisterium, taking into account the errors, the requirements, and the
opportunities of our time, might be presented in exceptional form to all men
throughout the world….
The great problem confronting the world
after almost two thousand years remains unchanged. Christ is ever resplendent
as the center of history and of life. Men are either with Him and His Church,
and then they enjoy light, goodness, order, and peace. Or else they are without
Him, or against Him, and deliberately opposed to His Church, and then they give
rise to confusion, to bitterness in human relations, and to the constant danger
of fratricidal wars….
Illuminated by the light of this Council,
the Church -- we confidently trust -- will become greater in spiritual riches
and gaining the strength of new energies therefrom, she will look to the future
without fear. In fact, by bringing herself up to date where required, and by
the wise organization of mutual co-operation, the Church will make men,
families, and peoples really turn
their minds to heavenly things....
In the daily exercise of our pastoral
office, we sometimes have to listen, much to our regret, to voices of persons
who, though burning with zeal, are not endowed with too much sense of
discretion or measure. In these modern times they can see nothing but
prevarication and ruin. They say that our era, in comparison with past eras, is
getting worse, and they behave as though they had learned nothing from history,
which is, none the less, the teacher of life. They behave as though at the time
of former Councils everything was a full triumph for the Christian idea and
life and for proper religious liberty….
The greatest concern of the Ecumenical
Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be
guarded and taught more efficaciously. That doctrine embraces the whole of man,
composed as he is of body and soul. And, since he is a pilgrim on this
earth, it commands him to tend always toward heaven….
In order, however, that this doctrine may
influence the numerous fields of human activity, with reference to individuals,
to families, and to social life, it
is necessary first of all that the Church should never depart from the sacred
patrimony of truth received from the Fathers. But at the same time she must ever
look to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced
into the modern world, which have opened new avenues to the Catholic apostolate.
The manner in which sacred doctrine is
spread, this having been established, it becomes clear how much is expected
from the Council in regard to doctrine. That is, the Twenty-first Ecumenical
Council, which will draw upon the effective and important wealth of juridical,
liturgical, apostolic, and administrative experiences, wishes to transmit the
doctrine, pure and integral,
without any attenuation or distortions, which throughout twenty centuries,
notwithstanding difficulties and contrasts, has become the common patrimony of
men. It is a patrimony not well received by all, but always a rich treasure
available to men of good will.
The salient point of this Council is not,
therefore, a discussion of one article or another of the fundamental doctrine
of the Church which has repeatedly been taught by the Fathers and by ancient
and modern theologians, and which is presumed to be well known and
familiar to all.
For this a Council was not necessary. But from the renewed, serene, and
tranquil adherence to all the teaching of the Church in its entirety and
preciseness, as it still shines forth in the Acts of the Council of Trent and
First Vatican Council, the Christian, Catholic, and apostolic spirit of the
whole world expects a step forward toward a doctrinal penetration and a
formation of consciousness in faithful and perfect conformity to the authentic
doctrine, which, however, should be studied and expounded through the methods
of research and through the literary forms of modern thought. The substance of
the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which
it is presented is another. And
it is the latter that must be taken into great consideration with patience if
necessary, everything being measured in the forms and proportions of a
Magisterium which is predominantly pastoral in character.
Misunderstanding and misapplication of the final
sentence of this excerpt has resulted in great confusion on the laity’s part
following the council. A major reason for such obfuscation was the infelicities,
not to say inaccuracies, and omissions in the Abbot-Gallagher translation of
the conciliar documents. It was by taking advantage of the Council’s often
looser terminology that, since the Council, theologians in rebellion against
the Church have been able to introduce changes of meaning under cover of the
Council’s authority. Here a close reading of the Pope’s speech reveals that the
Council was convened under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit not to put forth
new definitions of doctrine, (indeed Pope John called Catholics to be ever more
faithful to authentic doctrine) but to present the timeless deposit of the
Church’s doctrinal truth more effectively through an active engagement with
modernity, principally by imitating more closely her Master. In this
sense it was to be a “pastoral” Council.
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