Readings Between the Lines

Reflections

Re-igniting the flame of Vatican II

Readings Between the Lines

Father Glenn LeCompte

“For it seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us not to put upon you a burden greater than those things which are necessary: To abstain from that which is sacrificed to idols, blood, strangledanimal (meat) and unchastity; if you stay free of these things you will be doing well. Farewell” (Acts 15:28- 29, translation by Father Glenn LeCompte). The foregoing Scripture passage records the resolution of an issue the early church has to deal with in Acts of the Apostles. Some followers of Jesus from Judea instructed the Gentile Christians in Antioch in Syria that circumcision and adherence to the Jewish food laws was necessary for salvation (15:1, 5). The church leaders in Jerusalem decide that neither circumcision nor the entirety of the food laws need be observed by Gentiles, but that it is sufficient that they refrain from sacrificial meals associated with idol worship and from fertility rites in pagan temples.

Acts 15:1-30 depicts the church adapting itself to a new situation. The early church continued to perceive itself as a sect of Judaism even after Gentiles entered it. But the mix of a large number of Gentiles, who never had to adhere to circumcision or the Jewish food laws, with Jews necessitated that the church accommodate its practice of Judaism to new conditions. In the ensuing centuries since its foundation, church leaders have gathered for numerous councils to deal with new questions for changing times.

The Second Vatican Council, the anniversary of whose opening is Oct. 11, shared with all the councils prior to it the task of answering the question as to how the church could address the issues of its time and spread the Gospel to people in its day. In his opening address (Mother Church Rejoices) to the council fathers, Pope St. John XXIII set the tone for the council’s task when he said, “(the church) should never depart from the sacred patrimony ... 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 that have opened up new avenues to the Catholic apostolate” (J.W. O’Malley, What Happened at Vatican II?, p. 38). The Italian catchword that described Pope John’s view of the council’s task was aggiornamento, that is, “updating.”

Many things had happened since the closing of the First Vatican Council in 1870. The industrial revolution was now in full swing, and two world wars devastated Europe. After World War I totalitarian governments rose that sought to exclude religion from public discourse, and the Nazi Holocaust was one of the greatest expressions of the denial of human dignity in history. Automobiles, aircraft and new communications media had revolutionized life since 1870. There was a greater sense of rising global poverty and the idea that resources from around the world could and should be used to alleviate it.

Until Vatican II, most of the church’s decision-making was conducted from a European perspective. Yet the church is a global entity, and Catholic leaders from, for example, African and far east Asian countries, needed to be heard. Vatican II also gave Eastern-Rite Catholics, who often felt unheard by the West, a chance to articulate their perspective.

Also, theological scholars were both learning more about the church in its foundational years and attempting to answer new questions. Monastic scholars’ research on liturgical history revealed that the early church’s liturgy was simpler, more focused on the fullness of the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, and that the assembly had more of a participatory role in it. In 1903, Pope St. Pius X described the true Christian spirit as “active participation in the sacred mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the church” (Tra le Solicitudini). Thus the liturgy was reformed to invite full, conscious and active participation by the laity and to return it to its authentic spirit.

Active participation of the laity, according to Vatican II, needed to happen outside of the liturgy as well. Involvement of the laity in the church’s mission did not start with Vatican II. For over a century lay associations such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Peter Maurin’s and Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker Movement and Catholic Action (promoted by a

Reflections

Pope Pius XI), et al, were making a difference in the world. Just as Jesus sent his disciples out ahead of him to prepare towns he was about to visit for his coming (Luke 9:37-10:8), so the laity of the church, by right and virtue of their baptism, are to bring the Gospel into the arenas of everyday life, that it may spread throughout the world like leaven in dough.

The Vatican II Council Fathers brought the church out of hostile perspectives and relations with Protestants and non-Christian religions into dialog and collaboration with them in ways in which it was possible to do so.

Reactions to Vatican II have been varied. Since the council ended in 1965 there have been basically three historical groupings of Catholic society. Those who lived through the council and the changes it brought, those who grew up in the shadow of it and those for whom Vatican II seems to be from as long past as a council from the fourth century A.D. Negative reactions I have heard seem to stem from misunderstanding of the council or from very limited, preconceived notions of the nature of the church and its activity. Some do not think the council went far enough with its reforms. My advice to anyone would be to read the documents; understand what they actually say. A book that can help with understanding what the council was about is What Happened at Vatican II? by John W. O’Malley. Two words that encapsulate Pope St. John XXIII’s vision for the council are “postive” and “pastoral.” Without ignoring the existence of sin and evil in the world, the council refrained from the negative and condemnatory tone of many past councils, and sought both positive solutions to the world’s ills and the creation of new, productive experiences of faith. Additionally, the council documents urge a pastoral approach, in other words making the church and its mission relatable to people and sincerely addressing their needs. What Vatican II was really about is reflected in the title of one of its documents; it was intended to be and has been, “a light to the nations!” BC

Reflection Questions

v What do you think has been the greatest benefit Vatican II has offered to the life of the church? v What are examples of the way the Vatican II Council Fathers have addressed the needs of our time? v To which of the three groups (lived through the council, in its shadow, or experienced it as long past) mentioned above do you belong? How has being in that group affected your perception of the Council?

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