DISTINCTIVE ECCLESIOLOGY OF VATICAN II

1.

The Church is a mystery, or sacrament, and not primarily an institution or organization.

2.

The Church is the whole People of God, not just the hierarchy.

3.
The whole People of God participates in the mission of Christ, and not just in the mission of the
hierarchy.
4.
The mission of the Church includes service to those in need, and not just the preaching of the
Gospel
or
the
celebration of the sacraments.
5.
The Church is a communion of churches. It is truly present at the local level as well as at the
universal
level.
A
diocese or parish is not just an administrative division of the Church universal.
6.
The Church includes Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants, and Oriental Christians as well as
Catholics.
The
Catholic
Church includes the Eastern Catholic churches as well as Roman Catholics.
7.
The mission of the Church includes the proclamation of the Word, the celebration of the
sacraments,
the
witnessing
to the Gospel individually and institutionally, and the rendering of service to those in needs.
8.

All authority is for service, not domination.

9.
Religious truth is to be found outside the Church as well. No one is to be coerced to embrace the
Christian
or
the
Catholic faith.
10.

The Church is always for the sake of the Kingdom of God and is not itself the Kingdom.

1. Summarize the life of Pope John XXIII, who called Vatican Council II.
Angelo Roncalli was born November 25, 1881, at Sotte il Monte, Italy. He was educated in the
seminary of the Bergamo diocese and at the Pontifical Seminary in Rome. He was ordained a priest on
August 10, 1904. The first decade of his priesthood he served as secretary to the Bishop of Bergamo,
as an instructor in the seminary, and then as a medic and chaplain in the Italian army during World
War I.
In 1921 Fr. Roncalli was given an assignment with the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1925
he became apostolic visitor to Bulgaria. He also held such positions as apostolic delegate to Turkey
and Greece, administrator of the Latin Vicariate apostolic of Istanbul, and apostolic nuncio to France.
As Archbishop Roncalli, this great priest of the Church became an expert negotiator in delicate
movements with Roman, Eastern Rite, and Orthodox relationships. He represented the Church with
people who suffered the consequences of World War II and he helped settle many suspicions that
arose from wartime conditions.
On January 12, 1953, Archbishop Roncalli was named a cardinal by Pope Pius XII and then was
appointed patriarch of Venice, the position he held when he was elected pope on October 28, 1958.

Already an old man when he was named pope, many thought he would be simply an "interregnum"
pope, after the great pontifical reign of Pius XII. However, Pope John XXIII reigned for about 5 years
and his reign and decisions affected the history of the Catholic Church for present and future
generations.
Pope John proved to be a strong, active pope and his influence was felt around the world, as he was
loved by all men by Christians of all persuasions and even by non-Christians. He became known in
his own lifetime as "Good Pope John."
Pope John has often been misrepresented as responsible for radical elements within the Church (after
Vatican Council II) which disturbed its peace, harmony, respect for authority, and loyalty to Church
doctrine and discipline. Sometimes agitators and "reformers," who did not wish to follow the officially
approved reforms of the Catholic Church, spoke of their motives and efforts as "in the spirit of Pope
John," or "the spirit of Vatican Council II." In reality, the "spirit" of both was the opposite of theirs.
Since boyhood, as a young priest, a bishop, and then as pope, John XXIII was always loyal to the
traditions of the Church, always stressing the necessity of undivided loyalty to Church doctrine and
discipline and never advocating anything out of harmony with the faith and morals of the Catholic
Church. His diary (kept since boyhood), titled Journal of a Soul, reveals how intensely loyal Pope John
was until the moment of his death. He had intense loyalty to the rosary, praying all fifteen mysteries
daily, even during his busy pontificate. His devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Real
Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, while at the same time being "progressive" enough to
move the Church into the modern world so as to convert it, is a matter of documented history, edifying
to any sincere Catholic.
Good Pope John issued eight encyclicals. Two are outstanding, and won immediate recognition in the
world. Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher on Christianity and Social Progress) recapitulated in
updated fashion and extended the social doctrine stated by Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI. Pacem in
Terris (Peace on Earth) concerned the natural principles of peace, and was the first encyclical ever
formally issued by a pope to all men of good will as well as to Catholics.
On March 28, 1963, Pope John established a commission for revision of the Code of Canon Law, which
performed its work for many years.
Pope John, who was beloved by all Christians, whether Catholic or not, assigned to the Second Vatican
Council the task of promoting unity among all Christians, but he never called for any compromise of
Catholic faith, for real unity can never be found in compromising the truth.
On January 25, 1959, Pope John XXIII announced his intention of calling the twenty-first ecumenical
council of the Catholic Church.1
2. Why did Pope John XXIII convoke Vatican Council II?
His intention in convoking Vatican Council II as the twenty-first worldwide council (a council of the
bishops of the entire Church) was to renew the life of the Church, to reform structures and institutions
that needed updating, and to discover ways and means of promoting unity among all Christians.
Pope John used the Italian word aggiornamento in stating his purpose for Vatican Council II. Its general
meaning is "to bring up to date," "to renew,""to revitalize." The word is descriptive of the processes of
spiritual renewal and institutional reform and change in the Church judged necessary by Vatican
Council II.
In his opening speech to the Ecumenical Council of Vatican II, Pope John said that the first need in
calling the council was "to assert once again the Magisterium, which is unfailing and perdures until the
end of time." The "magisterium" means the teaching authority of the Church. How unfortunate that,
after this council, the magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church, was so often ignored even by
some who said they spoke "in the spirit of Vatican II" or the "spirit of Pope John."

In calling the council, Pope John noted that he looked to the past, to listen to its voice. He declared
that it was the principal duty of the council to defend and to advance the truth. The council was to be
loyal to the sacred patrimony of truth, as received from the fathers, but to see ever new
avenues by which to take the same, true faith of Christ to the world. He insisted that the
Catholic Church would continue to oppose errors, but that its opposition must be treated with
the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity. He sought ever greater unity in sanctity, and great
joy in the eventual union of all the Christian churches of the world.
Thus the reform and change that Pope John sought in calling the council was in no way to change the
faith and morals of the Catholic Church. His idea was to develop no new doctrine but a new way to
make the constant unchangeable faith in Christ as given the apostles in the sacred deposit of faith
ever more effective in the lives of people and for the evangelization of the entire world.
3. For how many sessions of the council was Pope John responsible?
Pope John called the council but he lived for only one of its four sessions. He opened the council on the
Feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary (October 11, 1962) after nearly four years of exhaustive
preparation. The council's first work was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which brought about
great changes in the structure and language of the Mass, without in any way changing its divine
nature as sacrifice and sacrament, given us by the Lord Jesus Christ. That first session closed
December 8, 1962, and Pope John died June 3, 1963.
Pope Paul VI reconvened the council for the remaining three sessions, which ran from September 29 to
December 4, 1963; September 14 to November 21, 1964; and September 14 to December 8, 1965.
4. How many bishops participated in Vatican Council II?
A total of 2,860 council fathers (world bishops) participated in the Twenty-first Ecumenical Council of
the Catholic Church. Attendance at council meetings varied from 2,000 to 2,500. For reasons such as
health and denial of exit visas from Communist-dominated countries, 274 bishops were not able to
participate.
5. What documents were formulated and promulgated by Vatican II?
There was a total of sixteen, all of which represented the pastoral nature of Vatican Council Ii, directed
to spiritual renewal and reform in the Church, without in any way changing the faith or morals of the
Church.
The sixteen documents are as follows:
1. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), Nov. 21, 1964.
2. Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), Nov. 18,1965.
3. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), Dec. 4, 1963.
4. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), Dec. 7, 1965.
5. Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church (Christus Dominus), Oct. 28, 1965.
6. Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity (Ad Gentes), Dec. 7, 1965.
7. Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio), Nov. 21, 1964.
8. Decree on Eastern Catholic Church (Orientalium Ecclesiarum), Nov. 21, 1964.

9. Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis), Dec. 7, 1965.
10. Decree on Priestly Formation (Optatam Totius), Oct. 28, 1965.
11. Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis), Oct. 25, 1965.
12. Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity (Apostolicam Actuositatem), Nov. 18, 1965.
13. Decree on the Instruments of Social Communication (Inter Mirifica), Dec. 4, 1963.
14. Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae), Dec. 7, 1965.
15. Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate), Oct.
28, 1965.
16. Declaration on Christian Education (Gravissimum Educationis), Oct. 28, 1965.
6. What did Vatican Council II say about the Blessed Virgin Mary?
Regarding the liturgy the council said: "In celebrating this annual cycle of Christ's mysteries, holy
Church honors with special love the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, who is joined by an inseparable
bond to the saving work of her Son. In Mary the Church holds up and admires the most excellent fruit
of the redemption. In Mary the Church joyfully contemplates, as in a spotless model, that which the
Church herself wholly desires and aspires to be."
The Vatican II council fathers devoted the entire eighth chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in "The Mystery of Christ and the Church." The
council also gave key statements about Mary in its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
Pope Paul VI, in a speech to the council fathers, spoke as follows: "This year, the homage of our
Council appears much more precious and significant. By the promulgation of today's constitution,
which has as its crown and summit a whole chapter dedicated to our Lady, we can rightly affirm that
the present session ends as an incomparable hymn of praise in honor of Mary."
"It is the first time, in fact, and saying it fills our souls with profound emotion, that an Ecumenical
Council has presented such a vast synthesis of the Catholic doctrine regarding the place which the
Blessed Mary occupies in the mystery of Christ and of the Church."
Vatican Council II was sensitive to the views of other Christians, as the council, at the request of Pope
John XXIII, hoped to promote Christian unity, but knew there are different concepts about Mary among
other Christians, especially Protestants. The council spoke of Mary as "Mediatrix," as strengthening
not lessening confidence in Christ as the one essential Mediator.
The council, in speaking of Mary, used a biblical approach, with strong emphasis on her pilgrimage of
faith. The council did not consider Mary as separate from its treatment of the Church, but discussed
the mystery of Mary in the larger mystery of Christ and his Church.
After Vatican Council II, some misrepresented the council, claiming it had downgraded Catholic
devotion to God's Mother. The council said "that the practices and exercises of devotion toward her,
recommended by the teaching authority of the Church in the course of centuries, [are to be] highly
esteemed." The council cautioned theologians and preachers of the word of God "to be careful to
refrain as from all false exaggeration as from too summary an attitude in considering the special
dignity of the Mother of God" (67, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church).