|
The Vision of Vatican II Bringing Aggiornamento to the Church Part II
Dr Marcellino d’Ambrosio, a lay theologian and teacher from the United States, gives an overview of the aims and objectives of Vatican II and reflects on how far these have been achieved 40 years later. This is part 2 of his article. Part 1 appeared in the last issue.
|
|
|
The Second Vatican Council’s teaching on the nature and mission of the Church is extensive. A full treatment of it would demand an entire book, not an article such as this. Here we’ll limit ourselves to only a few observations on the broadest features. The first thing to note is the fundamental model of the Church in the Council documents. Cardinal Avery Dulles, in his famous book Models of the Church, points out that all of us at least subconsciously operate with a fundamental paradigm of what the Church of Christ is and ought to do. Following the Protestant Reformation, which tended to minimize the apostolic structure and visible nature of the Church, Catholic theologians felt compelled to defend the Church as an institution and visible society, leading to an emphasis on the hierarchy and their governmental authority. Vatican II, while reaffirming the Church’s hierarchical character, wished instead to return to the more biblical and patristic vision of the Church as a communion of persons flowing from the loving relationship of the three divine persons of the Most Holy Trinity. This “communio ecclesiology” undergirds all the Council’s documents and is commented on widely after the Council by, among others, John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. It colours the Catechism of the Catholic Church, one of the great achievements of the post-conciliar period which can be seen as a synthesis and popular expression of the Council’s teaching. The Code of Canon law was even revised in 1983 so that law and governmental structures would follow the priority of personal relationship with God and with one another. The bishop as father So the Communio ecclesiology of the Council has had great impact in many respects. Yet regrettably, the way in which the pastoral structures of the Church function on a day to day basis often appear untouched by the vision of the Church as a communio. One example of this is with regard to the role of bishop in a diocese. The bishop is primarily a father whose role it is to teach, pastor, and sanctify the faithful and in a special way, the brother priests and deacons who assist him in carrying out his pastoral mission. Yet still in many circumstances, the bishop functions more as an administrator than as a father. One of the seldom noted causes of the priestly pedophilia scandal, in the United States, in my view is that few bishops really knew their priests personally. Priests’ training, selection, and assignments are usually delegated to others. In one of the first pedophilia lawsuits against an American diocese, it emerged that a lengthy letter was written to the bishop from one of his priests detailing the alarming and inappropriate activity of another priest, later convicted of abominable crimes. The jury was shocked to learn that the letter was never even read by the bishop but was rather reviewed by the bishop’s staff. There are some things that can and must be delegated to assistants by any leader. But if the Church is first and foremost a communion of persons, a family as it were, personal care and communication cannot be totally delegated. If a bishop or pastor becomes inaccessible, barricaded behind various levels of committees, we are dealing with bureaucracy and not communio. Role of Tradition and Scripture The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum (DV), was one of the last documents of the Council to be finalized because the issues it treated were so delicate and complex. One of those issues was the nature of Tradition. The Council of Trent, in the face of the Protestant revolt, had reaffirmed the authority of “traditions” as well as Scripture. But it never really described the nature of Tradition and its special role in the transmission of revealed truth. This is precisely one of the great achievements of Dei Verbum, drawing on important theological spadework done by Yves Congar and others. The content of Tradition cannot be limited to specific doctrines or practices, but consists rather in “all that the Church is and believes” (DV 8). It is an entire heritage, a vision of God and indeed of all reality, that is passed on from generation to generation under the watchful eye of the bishops, the successors of the apostles, with laity and clergy participating in the process as in “a single, common effort” (DV 10). There are aspects of Tradition’s content that must be “caught” and not simply taught. That is to say that it needs to be passed on through living practice and prayer. This deeper insight into the rich content and distinct process of Tradition has many implications that were understood by the Council Fathers. The family, the domestic church, is the place where impressionable young people spend the most time and so must be the key place where the transmission of the Catholic Tradition must take place. Parents must be recognized, says the Council, as the primary religious educators of their children and must be equipped for this task with adequate formation in Christian doctrine (LG 35; AA 28-32). The religious education in many Catholic parishes has not yet caught up with this conciliar vision. If it had, adult education and parenting courses would be top priority in parish religious educational programmes. Though some strides have been made in this direction (the RCIA is one), by and large adult education outside of RCIA is regarded as an optional extra. Evangelical churches generally put Catholic parishes to shame in the emphasis placed on continuing adult education which is focused on bible study, parenting and Christian family life. Ecumenism and Evangelization The Second Vatican Council’s decrees on Ecumenism (UR), the Apostolate of the Laity (AA), and Missions (AGD) all outline the vigorous apostolic action on the part of the entire Church, clergy and laity, in the areas of Ecumenism and Evangelization, which are targeted as twin pastoral priorities of the age. All are to be engaged in praying and working for the restoration of full Christian unity and the proclamation of the Gospel to all who need to hear it, from the primitive peoples in remote, unevangelized corners of the world to the inactive Catholic next door. Despite the flurry of ecumenical activity immediately after the council, today we see virtually no ecumenical awareness at the parish level, at least in the US. Petitions for Christian unity seldom appear in the prayers of the faithful. There is little talk about the topic and even less action. Probably the most fruitful ecumenical collaboration in the US has been in the pro-life movement where Evangelicals and Catholics have stood shoulder to shoulder on picket lines and at crisis pregnancy centres. And without cooperation between Protestants and Catholics, Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ” would have never made it past the Hollywood blockade into the mainstream of American life. This is progress from where things stood in 1962, but much more needs to be done. Our worst record, perhaps, is in the area of evangelization. Vatican II proclaimed evangelization as top priority, saying that the task of carrying the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet accepted it is more urgent now than ever (AGD 1 and 7). All must be involved in this work not only through witness of life but in words as well, able and ready to provide a reason for the hope they have in Christ (AA6 and AGD 23). All the forms of social communication must be utilized, including modern mass media. Yet forty years after the Council, in the USA, a nation that is 22% Catholic, there are many major metropolitan areas that do not have a single Catholic radio station. The Eternal Word Television Network has been a remarkable story of perserverance and faith, but it is sad that it has often been in spite of rather than with the support of many bishops and diocesan structures. Finding a parish where the evangelization of the inactive and the unchurched has any prominent place in the parish mission statement is rare–to find. A parish where there is any effective training in such evangelization is even rarer! The vast majority of Catholics, including not a few clergy, don’t have the faintest idea of where to start to bring an unchurched person to faith in Christ and participation in the life of the Church. Clearly, when it comes to making evangelization a top priority, we’ve dropped the ball. The Task at Hand Fortunately, when someone fumbles the ball, a team mate is free to pick it up and run with it across the goal line. The story about Trent and how long it took for the seminary system to be established should encourage us that it is not too late to pick up the work of implementing the Council and move it towards completion. In all the areas we have spoken about--inward liturgical renewal, a shift in religious education, the triumph of a true communio ecclesiology, and effective commitment to ecumenism and evangelization – the task is not changing texts or structures. Rather, it is about changing people. Human beings are creatures of habit and habits take time to change. And when you are trying to change attitudes and habits of a community one billion strong, change simply takes a long time and a lot of energy! Much accomplished, much to do So it should not surprise us that forty years after the close of the Council, much of the council’s vision remains to be implemented, regardless of all the great things that have been accomplished. Much prayer and hard work lie ahead of us. But I can think of one intercessor whose prayers we can count on for assistance--the late Pope John Paul II. This pontiff, who many believe should be called “the Great,” assumed the double name of the two popes of the Second Vatican Council in order to demonstrate that his entire pontificate was dedicated to the implementation of that council’s directives. He refused to cease in his labours, even when declining health removed much of the zip from his step. May he continue to pray for us as we seek to carry out his unfinished work. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D. is the director of CrossroadsInitiative.com based in Dallas. For additional resources on Vatican II visit his website. For his seminars on the Council and other topics, contact the Catholic Answers Speakers’ Bureau.
|
|
|
 |
