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Research on Vatican II

Submitted to:
Mr. Eduardo E. Asuzano, LPT

Submitted by:
Andrei Peralta
STEM-1B

November 4, 2019
Council- in the Christian Church, a meeting of bishops and other leaders to consider
and rule on questions of doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters. An
ecumenical or general council is a meeting of bishops of the whole church; local
councils representing such areas as provinces or patriarchates are often called
synods. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, a council is not ecumenical unless it
has been called by the pope, and its decrees are not binding until they have been
promulgated by the pope. Decrees so promulgated have the highest authority in the
Roman Catholic Church.

Whereas the Eastern Orthodox churches recognize only the first seven councils as
ecumenical, the Roman Catholic Church adds an eighth before the Schism of 1054,
which permanently divided Eastern and Western Christianity. It is the fourth Council
of Constantinople (869–870), which excommunicated Photius, the patriarch of
Constantinople. The Roman Catholic Church also considers 13 later councils as
ecumenical.

Within Protestantism, synods, councils, and conferences on a small scale have

played a part and, in times of crises, have sometimes achieved more than local or
temporary significance. Examples of such are the Westminster Assembly (1643), the
purpose of which was the reform of the English Church, and the Synod of Barmen
(1934), at which Lutheran and Reformed clergy declared their opposition to the
distortion of the historic confessions of Christianity by the so-called German
Christians. In the 19th century national and world consultative organizations were
established by many Protestant denominations, and in 1948 the World Council of
Churches, an ecumenical association of Protestant churches, was organized.

In the early church the name council was applied to any church meeting and even to
buildings where services were held. During the 3rd century, however, the word
council came to have the special sense of meetings of bishops, though not only
bishops were present, for the administration of the church. The earliest known
provincial councils were held in the 2nd century, and by the year 300 the meetings
of bishops in the provinces had become the habitual mode of church government.
Second Vatican Council, also called Vatican II, (1962–65),
21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, announced
by Pope John XXIII on January 25, 1959, as a means of spiritual
renewal for the church and as an occasion for Christians separated
from Rome to join in a search for Christian unity. Preparatory
commissions appointed by the pope prepared an agenda and
produced drafts (schemata) of decrees on various topics. In opening
the council on October 11, 1962, the pope advised the council
fathers to try to meet the pastoral needs of the church. Those
summoned to the council included all Catholic bishops and certain
other church dignitaries. Invited to the council sessions, but without
the right to vote, were a number of observers from the major
Christian churches and communities separated from Rome and a
number of Catholics called auditors.

The work of the preparatory commissions had been done by members of

the Curia (the papal bureaucracy); once the council had been opened,
however, council fathers from diverse parts of the world were added to the
commissions. The revised decrees that grew out of the council discussions
and the work of the enlarged commissions tended to have a more
progressive viewpoint. The work of the council continued under Pope
John’s successor, Paul VI, and sessions were convened each autumn until
the work of the council was completed on December 8, 1965. Sixteen
documents were enacted by the council fathers.
The “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” reflects the attempt of the
council fathers to utilize biblical terms rather than juridical categories to
describe the church. The treatment of the hierarchical structure of the
church counterbalances somewhat the monarchical emphasis of the First
Vatican Council’s teaching on the papacy by giving weight to the role of the
bishops. The teaching of the constitution on the nature of the laity (those
not in holy orders) was intended to provide the basis for the call of lay
people to holiness and to share in the missionary vocation of the church.
By describing the church as the people of God, a pilgrim people, the
council fathers provided the theological justification for changing the
defensive and inflexible stance that had characterized much of Catholic
thought and practice since the Protestant Reformation.
The “Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation” attempts to relate the
role of Scripture and tradition (the postbiblical teaching of the church) to
their common origin in the Word of God that has been committed to the
church. The document affirms the value of Scripture for salvation while
maintaining an open attitude toward the scholarly study of the Bible.
The “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” establishes the principle of greater
participation by the laity in the celebration of mass and authorizes
significant changes in the texts, forms, and language used in the
celebration of mass and the administration of the sacraments.
The “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today”
acknowledges the profound changes humanity is experiencing and
attempts to relate the church’s concept of itself and of revelation to the
needs and values of contemporary culture.
The council also promulgated decrees (documents on practical questions)
on the pastoral duties of bishops, ecumenism, the Eastern-rite churches,
the ministry and life of priests, the education for the priesthood, the
religious life, the missionary activity of the church, the apostolate of
the laity, and the media of social communication. Furthermore, declarations
(documents on particular issues) on religious freedom, the church’s attitude
toward non-Christian religions, and on Christian education were produced.
These documents reflected the renewal in various areas of church life
begun decades before Pope John—biblical, ecumenical, liturgical, lay
apostolate. The impulse of the documents and the council deliberations in
general had by the early 1970s been felt in nearly every area of church life
and had set in motion many changes that may not have been foreseen by
the council fathers.

History- John XXIII provoked general surprise in the world on January 25, 1959. He
announced his intention to convoke a council for the Universal Church. Without
having very concrete ideas about the content of the council, Bl. John XXIII identified
two objectives: an adaptation (aggiornamento) of the Church and of apostolate to a
world undergoing great transformation, and a return to unity among Christians,
which seems to be what the Pope thought would happen shortly. The council did not
speak so much of the Church fighting against adversaries as it did of finding a way
of expression in the world in which she lived and seemed to ignore.

Vatican II was an ecumenical council that took place in Vatican City from October
11, 1962, until December 8, 1965. This council represents a major event in the life
of the Church of the 20th century, and for this reason it constitutes a fundamental
era in universal history. It came to be the conclusion of the Tridentine period and
the beginning of a new phase in the history of the Church. This is due to the
prophetic action of Bl. John XXIII who perceived the need for a council that would
positively mark the new phase of the Church's evangelizing mission and to the
undisputed personality of Paul VI who had the courage to have brought it to its
conclusion and have forged the first steps of reform.
From January 25, 1959, in the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls, a
double movement was initiated: on one hand direct preparation for the
council began, accomplished above all by the Roman Curia; on the other, the
separation of diverse eccesial experiences that tended toward a strong
renewal of the life of the Church. A look at preconciliar history clearly reveals
the existence of a strong conservative block; different factors testify to it; we
can recall in particular: the concentration of the Curia and the vacant office of
the Secretary of State that Pius XII always held; the different condemnations
of several theological renovations; the prohibition against teaching what was
held by different valuable professors, like H. de Lubac, Y. Congar, Teilhard de
Chardin... after the publication of Humani Generis. Different factors already
suggested the change that soon become reality; the socio-cultural context
already showed the signs of an irreversible industrialization: the countries of
the Third World assumed an identity that they had never before had and
colonialism was reaching its end; in a word: society was fearfully and
something was being conceived that would modify more than just civil life.
There were also signs within the Church that signaled change: the
ecumenical movement continued to grow with a strong consciousness of
creating authentic spaces for encounter and dialogue; the laity assumed an
appearance of authentic ecclesial maturity; the theological context seemed to
be sustained by an investigation that returned to the genuine sources of
Scripture and the Fathers. The preparatory commission was presided over by
Cardinal Tardini; the Secretary General of the council was Bishop Pericles
Felici; the material for discussion was prepared by ten commissions
composed of various theologians from the Curia and was set out in 70
schema. The majority of the people involved in the preparation of the Council
began with the assurance that it would conclude in a few months;
unfortunately, these presentiments were inaccurate. In three years of intense
work, the council rejected a great part of the preparatory material and
formulated some

documents that restored an authentically Evangelical horizon to the Church. There

were 2,540 bishops present at the Council, coming from every continent, as were at
least 480 theologians - "peritos" and auditors -, thus as representatives of reform
and orthodoxy. This representation manifested the new expressions of dialogue that
had been codified in the documents themselves. Vatican II, a point of change for the
pontificate of Bl. John XXIII revolutionized the position of the Catholic Church
regarding the ecumenical movement. The ecumenical concern was, in the mind of
Pope John XXIII, one of the principle stimuli that had brought him to announce his
intention to call a council "to manifest, to a greater degree, our love and
benevolence toward those who call themselves Christians but are separated from
the Apostolic See, so that they also can closely follow the works of the council and
thus more easily find the way to achieve unity for which Jesus directs to the
Heavenly Father such an ardent plea."

The celebration of the council constituted a great event for all Christianity. The
presence of non-Catholic observers and their collaboration through questions and
observations contributed by introducing an ecumenical dimension to the conciliar
documents. As such, the occurrence of the council was for all churches, during those
years, a sign of hope. It made manifest the possibility that a Church would begin
and bring to a good conclusion, in a certain sense, a general updating and reform. It
also made for an admirable example of the concilar character of the Church. The
concept of "council" was actualized, again, as much in the Orthodox churches as in
the whole ecumenical movement.

A. 16 documents-
1. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: “Sacrosanctum
Concilium,” Dec. 4, 1963. It ordered an extensive revision of
worship so that people would have a clearer sense of their own
involvement in the Mass and other rites.
2. Decree on the Instruments of Social Communication:
“Inter Mirifica,” Dec. 4, 1963. It called on members of the
church, especially the laity, to instill “a human and Christian
spirit” into newspapers, magazines, books, films, radio and
television.
3. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: “Lumen Gentium,”
Nov. 21, 1964. It presented the church as a mystery, as a
communion of baptized believers, as the people of God, as the
body of Christ and as a pilgrim moving toward fulfillment in
heaven but marked on earth with “a sanctity that is real,
although imperfect.”
4. Decree on Ecumenism: “Unitatis Redintegratio,” Nov. 21,
1964.It said that ecumenism should be everyone’s concern and
that genuine ecumenism involves a continual personal and
institutional renewal.
5. Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches: “Orientalium
Ecclesiarum,” Nov. 21, 1964. It stated that variety within the
church does not harm its unity and that Eastern Catholic
churches should retain their own traditions.
6. Decree on the Bishops’ Pastoral Office in the Church:
“Christus Dominus,” Oct. 28, 1965. It said each bishop has
 full ordinary power in his own diocese and is expected to
present Christian doctrine in ways adapted to the times. It
urged conferences of bishops to exercise pastoral direction
jointly.
7. Decree on Priestly Formation: “Optatam Totius,” Oct. 28,
1965. It recommended that seminaries pay attention to the
spiritual, intellectual and disciplinary formation necessary to
prepare priesthood students to become good pastors.
8. Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life:
“Perfectae Caritatis,” Oct. 28, 1965. It provided guidelines for
the personal and institutional renewal of the lives of nuns,
brothers and priests belonging to religious orders.
9. Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-
Christian Religions: “Nostra Aetate,” Oct. 28, 1965. It said
the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in non-
Christian religions, called for an end to anti-Semitism and said
any discrimination based on race, color, religion or condition of
life is foreign to the mind of Christ.
10. Declaration on Christian Education: “Gravissimum
Educationis,” Oct. 28, 1965. It affirmed the right of parents to
choose the type of education they want for their children,
upheld the importance of Catholic schools and defended
freedom of inquiry in Catholic colleges and universities.
11. Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation: “Dei
Verbum,” Nov. 18, 1965. It said the church depends on
Scripture and tradition as the one deposit of God’s word and
commended the use of modern scientific scholarship in studying
Scripture.
12. Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: “Apostolicam
Actuositatem,” Nov. 18, 1965. It said the laity should
influence their surroundings with Christ’s teachings.
13. Declaration on Religious Freedom: “Dignitatis
Humanae,” Dec. 7, 1965. It said that religious liberty is a right
found in the dignity of each person and that no one should be
forced to act in a way contrary to his or her own beliefs.
14. Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests:
“Presbyterorum Ordinis,” Dec. 7, 1965.It said the primary
duty of priests is to proclaim the Gospel to all, approved and
encouraged celibacy as a gift and recommended fair salaries.
15. Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity: “Ad Gentes,”
Dec. 7, 1965. It said missionary activity should help the social
 and economic welfare of people and not force anyone to accept
the faith.
16. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
World: “Gaudium et Spes,” Dec. 7, 1965. It said the church
must talk to atheists, a continual campaign must be waged for
peace, nuclear war is unthinkable and aid to underdeveloped
nations is urgent. It said marriage was not just for procreation
and urged science to find an acceptable means of birth
regulation.