Friday, February 24, 2006
Vatican II
The Documents of Vatican II
The old saying “The king is dead; long live the king” comes to mind when talking about the Council: “The Council is over, the Council has just begun.”
Lumen Gentium (Light of all Nations): Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
—Lumen Gentium are the first two words of the text.
—one of two Dogmatic Constitutions, the other one being on Revelation
—went through many drafts
—old vision of the Church very anti-Protestant, emphasizing the hierarchical and juridical aspects of the Church, and supremacy of the Pope.
—Council Fathers wanted to give a more biblical, historical, vital and dynamic picture of Church.
—It’s called a Dogmatic Constitution, but does NOT define any new dogmas.
—sets forth the Church’s present understanding of her nature.
—shows a preference for vivid and biblical language over rigid definitions and scholastic subtleties.
—Church is a “little flock” of weak and sinful men. Always stands in need of purification and renewal, while also feeling confident of God’s loving help.
—mystery of the Church viewed through paradoxical union between human and divine.
—Since it is human, the Church exists in time, and is subject to forces of history.
—Since it is divine, it presses forward toward a goal beyond history.
—Lumen Gentium is pastoral, Christocentric, biblical, historical, & eschatological.
—the tone is ecumenical
The document itself:
—begins NOT with a discussion of the structures of the Church.
—begins with the notion of Church as a people to whom God communicates Himself in love.
Chapter 3: deals with the hierarchy, particularly the episcopacy. Focuses mainly on the priestly role of the bishop and his sacramental consecration. The bishops are a body or college, collectively responsible for the needs of the Church.
The Church as a whole: first, Council considers the 3-fold office of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. Those with authority in the Church (usually ordained) are called to the 3 functions of teaching, sanctifying, and governing the people of God.
—all Christians (ordained and laity) have the task of witness, ministry, and fellowship: martyrion, diakonia, and koinonia.
Final Chapter: deals with Virgin Mary. Goal is to link her role to the Church as a whole.
Final Notes: Lumen Gentium is NOT a definitive document. Does not canonize the past or consecrate the present, but prepares the way for the future.
Another interpretation: http://faith-matters.blogspot.com/2005/10/lumen-gentium-general-commentary.html
“Jesus Christ is the light of all nations.” Jesus is at the center of Church identity.
Dei Verbum (The Word of God): Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
—equal in importance to Lumen Gentium. Together with it they are the most fundamental documents of Vatican II.
—Dei Verbum is in fact, if not in name, Vatican II’s pronouncement on the Bible.
Chapters 1 & 2: set the Bible in context of the whole Christian doctrine of salvation, and in this light explain its origin and function.
Chapters 3-6: deal expressly with sacred Scripture.
—God is a personal God who has spoken to men. He initiates dialogue with them, invites them to listen to his words, and to respond. God’s words are revelation, our response is faith.
Article 5: biblical faith is far more than an intellectual assent to propositions. It is a loyal adherence to a personal God.
Revelation—the main subject of the document.
—God manifests primarily Himself and secondarily His will and intentions: to particular men at particular times. Each revelation of God is part of a bigger plan for the good of all men.
**—all revelation is public. Even so-called private revelation is meant to be testified to others by the recipient.
—Revelation passed on orally is tradition; and recorded in writing, it becomes Scripture.
—Scripture contains revelation, in form of written record, but not all Scripture is revelation. It is a record of revelations effects, of human reactions to it, and men’s faith or lack of it.
Important Distinction: All Scripture is inspired, but NOT all Scripture is revealed.
—Much of tradition is only that of human origin, while some represents the revelation of Christ.
The New Testament—the permanent and unchanging testimony of the apostolic generation.
—NT writings are NOT a complete and balanced inventory of the early Church’s beliefs.
—they DO lay down the rule of faith as it was recorded; the Church is always bound to this: can develop it but never falsify or change.
—also important: written records are “dead” letters, i.e. cannot change, therefore always needing constant interpretation and commentary in succeeding ages.
—Sacred writings are always accompanied by continuous tradition of understanding and explanation.
—IF this tradition were only human, it would be liable to error. But, the Church’s magisterium is free from error in essentials of faith.
Article 10: Scripture, tradition, and the magisterium work together. All are necessary for the Church’s life.
—People are encouraged to read the Bible. Also, reminded to keep in mind tradition and the magisterium. One should not come to a Bible reading in total ignorance of what is to be found there.
—One must come to a reading of the Bible with a faith in Christ.
—A reader of Scripture must take care to understand the given particular time, place, historical and cultural setting, to understand what the author was saying, and get the meaning.
—Need to understand what type of writing you are reading, whether it be poetry, prophecy, history, proverb, psalm, apocalyptic, etc, etc.
Relation of Old Testament to New Testament
—Old Testament’s purpose is to prepare for the coming both of Christ, the universal Redeemer, and of the messianic kingdom, to announce this coming by prophecy and it to indicate its meaning through various types.
—The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.
—The New Testament is the word of God, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in it.
—The Gospels have preeminence even among the other book of the NT. The Gospels are of apostolic origin.
—each Gospel writer took some things from the many known about Jesus Christ, and wrote it in a manner needed for their particular church community. Though they are all slightly different, and have some different stories, and different story orders, all tell the honest truth about Jesus.
Sacrosanctum Concilium: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
—the first completed work of Vatican II.
—liturgy is important. Other documents and issues may only have indirect bearing on the life of the faithful; the liturgy touches everyone immediately and vitally.
Liturgy—our public worship.
Article 50—the need to revise the rite of the Mass in a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts and their connection is more clearly manifested.
—make the Mass more intelligible for the people. Much of this had been lost over the course of centuries.
—elements that over time came to be duplicated, or were added without much advantage, should be discarded.
**—should not change for change’s sake, or return to the past for the past’s sake, but for the benefit of the faithful.
—this document implemented quickly, changes scene, and the whole Council in general is scene as valuable, as relating to the people, not just the Bishops talking about matters “over the peoples heads.”
—The fundamental elements of the liturgy CANNOT change, but everything else is changeable.
—trim the Mass of useless accretions. Restore it to “noble simplicity”
—reform other practices to adjust certain aspects to the requirements of our times.
—Do not impose, but rather use what is good from other cultures in the liturgy.
—Gregorian Chant DOES have pride of place, but other forms of music may and should be adopted.
—a more generous use of the vernacular should be used in the liturgy.
—Do NOT let feasts of the saints take precedence over regular feasts of the church.
Scripture: Christ is present not just in the Sacraments (particularly Eucharist), but also in His Word. Real Presence of Christ is in the liturgy of the Word, as well as Liturgy of the Eucharist.
—The homily should be based on the Scripture texts of that mass.
Church Year: Revision of the Liturgical Year. Not all saints feasts days need to be celebrated in all parishes.
—New three year cycle, with Matt, Mark, Luke taking turns, John interspersed, and two readings before the gospels, one OT (usually) and one NT, instead of the past, where it was just one NT reading.
Gaudium Et Spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Goal: engage in conversation with the entire human family.
—the Church can shed light on the human mystery and cooperate in solving contemporary problems.
—This constitution is addressed to (1) Catholics, (2) all Christians, and (3) the whole of humanity.
—The Church has a duty to read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel.
Council’s view of contemporary society:
—We are in a new age of human history; social and cultural circumstances of life have profoundly changed.
—humans have passed from a static concept of reality to a more dynamic, evolutionary one.
—we are undergoing cultural and social transformation; rapid changes in industrialization, urbanization, communication, and socialization.
—changes happening in attitudes, values, norms of behavior.
—modern technical advances=growing dependence on others.
—increasing socialization causes problems and opportunities for development.
—a growing awareness in the world of human dignity, rights, and duties that belong to all and cannot be taken away.
Also some negatives about the modern world:
—splits in individuals, families, races, and nations.
—people find it difficult to find permanent values to apply to changing situations.
—a serious split between people’s faith and daily lives.
—economic and political tensions, increased warfare, nuclear weapons.
The modern world is at once powerful and weak.
—Church sets out to find a working relationship with the world.
—The Church has benefited the world and the world has benefited the Church.
—The Church has profited richly by the history and development of humanity.
—Whoever works to benefit the world helps the Church as well.
The Church’s mission: saving and eschatological, only fully attained in the next world. Her mission is religious, not political.
—The Church opens up to people the meaning of their own existence. People are precious for who they are, not what they have. Human dignity extends to the human body, human mind/intellect, and human conscience.
—Atheism is a serious problem in the modern world. Sometimes caused by the desire for humans to be ends unto themselves, sometimes caused by religious people being bad. Atheism is to be confronted with dialogue and a good presentation of the faith.
Social Justice: promote individual dignity and the community. Make sure that people have basic needs; food, shelter, freedom to chose a state of life and found a family, right to education, employment, good reputation, respect, information, privacy, religious freedom.
—our end time hopes do not diminish the need to make the world a better place in the here and now.
Unitatis Redintegratio: Decree on Ecumenism
Ecumenism for the Church before Vatican II: pray that Protestants “return” to the true Church and the Orthodox Schism ends. No involvement in real dialogue.
John XXIII calls Vatican II; invites Orthodox prelates and Protestants to be observers of the Council. John did NOT call them schismatics or heretics; he called them our “separated brethren.”
Document finished in 1963, discussed from November 18 through December 2. Refined during third session of the Council in 1964. Pope made some changes the day before the final version of the text was approved. November 20, voted in favor 2,054 to 64.
—Document has 5 chapters. 3 on principles and practice of ecumenism and relations with Protestants and Orthodox Churches, 1 on relations with the Jews, and 1 on religious freedom.
—Focus of the document is more on a pilgrim Church moving toward Christ than on a movement of “return” to the Catholic Church.
—does not focus on the typical “the Catholic Church is the true Church”; instead asserts that Jesus Christ, in His Spirit, is at work in the Churches and Communities beyond the visible borders of the Catholic Church. All baptized Christians are our brothers.
—admission of guilt: says that the divisions among Christians are the result of sin on both sides, Protestant and Catholic.
—all have an obligation to pray for the restoration of unity. All are called to dialogue.
**—the call to unity is also realistic. Does not call for watering down dogmas. Instead of pretending our differences do not matter, we need to respect differences and work together.
—the call to ecumenism is not an end, but a beginning.
—this document marks the Roman Catholic Church’s full entry into the ecumenical movement.
Nostra Aetate: Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions
—Chapter 4 of Unitatis Redintegratio deals with Christian relations with Jews, however it was decided that (1) this was not enough space to discuss the issue and (2) it is an issue different than the scope of ecumenism, since Judaism is a different religion.
—Some Eastern Patriarchs were opposed to inserting the line that says Jews are not responsible for deicide. They think this will cause Palestinians to think the Church favors the State of Israel and lead to Palestinians persecuting Christian minorities in the area.
—It was ultimately decided to include the statement, however.
—since Scripture reinforces the relationship between the Church and the people of the Old Testament, discrimination against Jews is always wrong.
—This document ends the sad chapter of Church history where many believed that the Jews were Christ killers.
—this document also deals with other religions
—states that all peoples of the earth with their various religions form one community. The Church respects the spiritual, moral, cultural values of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam.
—Does not call for conversion of non-Christians in this document, but a hoped for reunion of all believers at the end of history.
Dignitatis Humanae (Human Dignity): Declaration on Religious Freedom
November 19, 1963—first schema (draft text) on religious freedom is presented to conciliar Fathers. Over two years, five corrected versions of the text appeared. 3 public debates held, 120 speeches made. Out of all this debate came the 6th and final text.
—Religious freedom is a human right.
—the Declaration is not really a milestone in human history. Principle of religious freedom is recognized in constitutional law. The Church was late in recognizing this principle.
—the major issue in passing this document is the issue of development of document. What would passing this document say about the issue of the Church changing, considering the release of the Syllabus of Errors (1864) just 100 years prior.
—nevertheless, this document opens up new relations between the Church and other peoples.
—the old double standard—freedom for the Church when it is a minority, privilege for the Church and intolerance for others when Catholics are a majority—no longer flies.
—the dignity of man consists in his responsible use of freedom.
**—This document is the singular one addressed to the whole world.
The old saying “The king is dead; long live the king” comes to mind when talking about the Council: “The Council is over, the Council has just begun.”
Lumen Gentium (Light of all Nations): Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
—Lumen Gentium are the first two words of the text.
—one of two Dogmatic Constitutions, the other one being on Revelation
—went through many drafts
—old vision of the Church very anti-Protestant, emphasizing the hierarchical and juridical aspects of the Church, and supremacy of the Pope.
—Council Fathers wanted to give a more biblical, historical, vital and dynamic picture of Church.
—It’s called a Dogmatic Constitution, but does NOT define any new dogmas.
—sets forth the Church’s present understanding of her nature.
—shows a preference for vivid and biblical language over rigid definitions and scholastic subtleties.
—Church is a “little flock” of weak and sinful men. Always stands in need of purification and renewal, while also feeling confident of God’s loving help.
—mystery of the Church viewed through paradoxical union between human and divine.
—Since it is human, the Church exists in time, and is subject to forces of history.
—Since it is divine, it presses forward toward a goal beyond history.
—Lumen Gentium is pastoral, Christocentric, biblical, historical, & eschatological.
—the tone is ecumenical
The document itself:
—begins NOT with a discussion of the structures of the Church.
—begins with the notion of Church as a people to whom God communicates Himself in love.
Chapter 3: deals with the hierarchy, particularly the episcopacy. Focuses mainly on the priestly role of the bishop and his sacramental consecration. The bishops are a body or college, collectively responsible for the needs of the Church.
The Church as a whole: first, Council considers the 3-fold office of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. Those with authority in the Church (usually ordained) are called to the 3 functions of teaching, sanctifying, and governing the people of God.
—all Christians (ordained and laity) have the task of witness, ministry, and fellowship: martyrion, diakonia, and koinonia.
Final Chapter: deals with Virgin Mary. Goal is to link her role to the Church as a whole.
Final Notes: Lumen Gentium is NOT a definitive document. Does not canonize the past or consecrate the present, but prepares the way for the future.
Another interpretation: http://faith-matters.blogspot.com/2005/10/lumen-gentium-general-commentary.html
“Jesus Christ is the light of all nations.” Jesus is at the center of Church identity.
Dei Verbum (The Word of God): Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
—equal in importance to Lumen Gentium. Together with it they are the most fundamental documents of Vatican II.
—Dei Verbum is in fact, if not in name, Vatican II’s pronouncement on the Bible.
Chapters 1 & 2: set the Bible in context of the whole Christian doctrine of salvation, and in this light explain its origin and function.
Chapters 3-6: deal expressly with sacred Scripture.
—God is a personal God who has spoken to men. He initiates dialogue with them, invites them to listen to his words, and to respond. God’s words are revelation, our response is faith.
Article 5: biblical faith is far more than an intellectual assent to propositions. It is a loyal adherence to a personal God.
Revelation—the main subject of the document.
—God manifests primarily Himself and secondarily His will and intentions: to particular men at particular times. Each revelation of God is part of a bigger plan for the good of all men.
**—all revelation is public. Even so-called private revelation is meant to be testified to others by the recipient.
—Revelation passed on orally is tradition; and recorded in writing, it becomes Scripture.
—Scripture contains revelation, in form of written record, but not all Scripture is revelation. It is a record of revelations effects, of human reactions to it, and men’s faith or lack of it.
Important Distinction: All Scripture is inspired, but NOT all Scripture is revealed.
—Much of tradition is only that of human origin, while some represents the revelation of Christ.
The New Testament—the permanent and unchanging testimony of the apostolic generation.
—NT writings are NOT a complete and balanced inventory of the early Church’s beliefs.
—they DO lay down the rule of faith as it was recorded; the Church is always bound to this: can develop it but never falsify or change.
—also important: written records are “dead” letters, i.e. cannot change, therefore always needing constant interpretation and commentary in succeeding ages.
—Sacred writings are always accompanied by continuous tradition of understanding and explanation.
—IF this tradition were only human, it would be liable to error. But, the Church’s magisterium is free from error in essentials of faith.
Article 10: Scripture, tradition, and the magisterium work together. All are necessary for the Church’s life.
—People are encouraged to read the Bible. Also, reminded to keep in mind tradition and the magisterium. One should not come to a Bible reading in total ignorance of what is to be found there.
—One must come to a reading of the Bible with a faith in Christ.
—A reader of Scripture must take care to understand the given particular time, place, historical and cultural setting, to understand what the author was saying, and get the meaning.
—Need to understand what type of writing you are reading, whether it be poetry, prophecy, history, proverb, psalm, apocalyptic, etc, etc.
Relation of Old Testament to New Testament
—Old Testament’s purpose is to prepare for the coming both of Christ, the universal Redeemer, and of the messianic kingdom, to announce this coming by prophecy and it to indicate its meaning through various types.
—The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.
—The New Testament is the word of God, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in it.
—The Gospels have preeminence even among the other book of the NT. The Gospels are of apostolic origin.
—each Gospel writer took some things from the many known about Jesus Christ, and wrote it in a manner needed for their particular church community. Though they are all slightly different, and have some different stories, and different story orders, all tell the honest truth about Jesus.
Sacrosanctum Concilium: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
—the first completed work of Vatican II.
—liturgy is important. Other documents and issues may only have indirect bearing on the life of the faithful; the liturgy touches everyone immediately and vitally.
Liturgy—our public worship.
Article 50—the need to revise the rite of the Mass in a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts and their connection is more clearly manifested.
—make the Mass more intelligible for the people. Much of this had been lost over the course of centuries.
—elements that over time came to be duplicated, or were added without much advantage, should be discarded.
**—should not change for change’s sake, or return to the past for the past’s sake, but for the benefit of the faithful.
—this document implemented quickly, changes scene, and the whole Council in general is scene as valuable, as relating to the people, not just the Bishops talking about matters “over the peoples heads.”
—The fundamental elements of the liturgy CANNOT change, but everything else is changeable.
—trim the Mass of useless accretions. Restore it to “noble simplicity”
—reform other practices to adjust certain aspects to the requirements of our times.
—Do not impose, but rather use what is good from other cultures in the liturgy.
—Gregorian Chant DOES have pride of place, but other forms of music may and should be adopted.
—a more generous use of the vernacular should be used in the liturgy.
—Do NOT let feasts of the saints take precedence over regular feasts of the church.
Scripture: Christ is present not just in the Sacraments (particularly Eucharist), but also in His Word. Real Presence of Christ is in the liturgy of the Word, as well as Liturgy of the Eucharist.
—The homily should be based on the Scripture texts of that mass.
Church Year: Revision of the Liturgical Year. Not all saints feasts days need to be celebrated in all parishes.
—New three year cycle, with Matt, Mark, Luke taking turns, John interspersed, and two readings before the gospels, one OT (usually) and one NT, instead of the past, where it was just one NT reading.
Gaudium Et Spes: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Goal: engage in conversation with the entire human family.
—the Church can shed light on the human mystery and cooperate in solving contemporary problems.
—This constitution is addressed to (1) Catholics, (2) all Christians, and (3) the whole of humanity.
—The Church has a duty to read the signs of the times and interpret them in light of the Gospel.
Council’s view of contemporary society:
—We are in a new age of human history; social and cultural circumstances of life have profoundly changed.
—humans have passed from a static concept of reality to a more dynamic, evolutionary one.
—we are undergoing cultural and social transformation; rapid changes in industrialization, urbanization, communication, and socialization.
—changes happening in attitudes, values, norms of behavior.
—modern technical advances=growing dependence on others.
—increasing socialization causes problems and opportunities for development.
—a growing awareness in the world of human dignity, rights, and duties that belong to all and cannot be taken away.
Also some negatives about the modern world:
—splits in individuals, families, races, and nations.
—people find it difficult to find permanent values to apply to changing situations.
—a serious split between people’s faith and daily lives.
—economic and political tensions, increased warfare, nuclear weapons.
The modern world is at once powerful and weak.
—Church sets out to find a working relationship with the world.
—The Church has benefited the world and the world has benefited the Church.
—The Church has profited richly by the history and development of humanity.
—Whoever works to benefit the world helps the Church as well.
The Church’s mission: saving and eschatological, only fully attained in the next world. Her mission is religious, not political.
—The Church opens up to people the meaning of their own existence. People are precious for who they are, not what they have. Human dignity extends to the human body, human mind/intellect, and human conscience.
—Atheism is a serious problem in the modern world. Sometimes caused by the desire for humans to be ends unto themselves, sometimes caused by religious people being bad. Atheism is to be confronted with dialogue and a good presentation of the faith.
Social Justice: promote individual dignity and the community. Make sure that people have basic needs; food, shelter, freedom to chose a state of life and found a family, right to education, employment, good reputation, respect, information, privacy, religious freedom.
—our end time hopes do not diminish the need to make the world a better place in the here and now.
Unitatis Redintegratio: Decree on Ecumenism
Ecumenism for the Church before Vatican II: pray that Protestants “return” to the true Church and the Orthodox Schism ends. No involvement in real dialogue.
John XXIII calls Vatican II; invites Orthodox prelates and Protestants to be observers of the Council. John did NOT call them schismatics or heretics; he called them our “separated brethren.”
Document finished in 1963, discussed from November 18 through December 2. Refined during third session of the Council in 1964. Pope made some changes the day before the final version of the text was approved. November 20, voted in favor 2,054 to 64.
—Document has 5 chapters. 3 on principles and practice of ecumenism and relations with Protestants and Orthodox Churches, 1 on relations with the Jews, and 1 on religious freedom.
—Focus of the document is more on a pilgrim Church moving toward Christ than on a movement of “return” to the Catholic Church.
—does not focus on the typical “the Catholic Church is the true Church”; instead asserts that Jesus Christ, in His Spirit, is at work in the Churches and Communities beyond the visible borders of the Catholic Church. All baptized Christians are our brothers.
—admission of guilt: says that the divisions among Christians are the result of sin on both sides, Protestant and Catholic.
—all have an obligation to pray for the restoration of unity. All are called to dialogue.
**—the call to unity is also realistic. Does not call for watering down dogmas. Instead of pretending our differences do not matter, we need to respect differences and work together.
—the call to ecumenism is not an end, but a beginning.
—this document marks the Roman Catholic Church’s full entry into the ecumenical movement.
Nostra Aetate: Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions
—Chapter 4 of Unitatis Redintegratio deals with Christian relations with Jews, however it was decided that (1) this was not enough space to discuss the issue and (2) it is an issue different than the scope of ecumenism, since Judaism is a different religion.
—Some Eastern Patriarchs were opposed to inserting the line that says Jews are not responsible for deicide. They think this will cause Palestinians to think the Church favors the State of Israel and lead to Palestinians persecuting Christian minorities in the area.
—It was ultimately decided to include the statement, however.
—since Scripture reinforces the relationship between the Church and the people of the Old Testament, discrimination against Jews is always wrong.
—This document ends the sad chapter of Church history where many believed that the Jews were Christ killers.
—this document also deals with other religions
—states that all peoples of the earth with their various religions form one community. The Church respects the spiritual, moral, cultural values of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam.
—Does not call for conversion of non-Christians in this document, but a hoped for reunion of all believers at the end of history.
Dignitatis Humanae (Human Dignity): Declaration on Religious Freedom
November 19, 1963—first schema (draft text) on religious freedom is presented to conciliar Fathers. Over two years, five corrected versions of the text appeared. 3 public debates held, 120 speeches made. Out of all this debate came the 6th and final text.
—Religious freedom is a human right.
—the Declaration is not really a milestone in human history. Principle of religious freedom is recognized in constitutional law. The Church was late in recognizing this principle.
—the major issue in passing this document is the issue of development of document. What would passing this document say about the issue of the Church changing, considering the release of the Syllabus of Errors (1864) just 100 years prior.
—nevertheless, this document opens up new relations between the Church and other peoples.
—the old double standard—freedom for the Church when it is a minority, privilege for the Church and intolerance for others when Catholics are a majority—no longer flies.
—the dignity of man consists in his responsible use of freedom.
**—This document is the singular one addressed to the whole world.
# posted by SeanPatrick @ 6:34 PM 
