On October 11, 1962 – sixty years ago – the Second Vatican Council was officially opened by Pope St. John XXIII. Vatican II, as it is often called, would be responsible for monumental changes in the lives of Catholics, including the introduction of English and other modern languages into the prayers of the Mass. Over two thousand bishops and theological experts gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope St. John XXIII gave his opening address, which said in part:
The greatest concern of the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously. That doctrine embraces the whole of man, composed as he is of body and soul. And, since he is a pilgrim on this earth, it commands him to tend always toward heaven…. The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another. And it is the latter that must be taken into great consideration with patience if necessary, everything being measured in the forms and proportions of a magisterium which is predominantly pastoral in character.
In other words, a key purpose of the Second Vatican Council was to discern how to teach and live the Catholic faith in our modern world. The bishops and theologians gathered over the course of four years, producing sixteen authoritative documents to guide the life and mission of the Church into the new millennium. The documents of the Council reaffirmed the unchanging teachings of the Catholic Church, while authorizing some changes in Catholic life that were intended to help the Church engage with the modern world. In the years immediately following Vatican II, there were several competing interpretations of the Council:
During the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II, many of these controversies were put to rest, at least officially. Through papal encyclicals and addresses, John Paul II reaffirmed both the continued authority of Catholic Tradition and the need to engage with the modern world. To put it broadly, the Communio interpretation of the Council received the Magisterium’s official stamp of approval. Pope Benedict XVI offered an invaluable explanation and clarification of these debates in his 2005 Christmas Address to the Roman Curia, emphasizing that the Church must always reform in continuity with her past.
Today, however, many Catholics still seem to be rehashing the same arguments that took place in the years of the Second Vatican Council. Debates that once seemed settled are now reemerging, as emboldened progressives in the Church once again push for sweeping changes in Catholic teaching and, in response, Catholic traditionalists once again question or deny Vatican II’s legitimacy. In some ways, the tension in the Church feels like it has increased, as the polarizing effects of today’s social media re-shape and intensify the old theological battle lines. The competing factions today are very similar to those of half a century ago:
These debates matter, even for the average Catholic. At stake is how the Catholic faith is to be lived and believed in the modern world today. Is Catholic doctrine like Play-Doh that can be remolded however we please? Can I simply set aside the Catholic Church’s perennial teachings on things like contraception or homosexuality, because I heard some priest say that I could? Or – at the other end of the spectrum – is the Catholic faith a fragile antique that is at risk of breaking if moved at all? Do I have to go only to the Latin Mass, for example, because a guy on YouTube says it should have never been changed in the first place?
Thinking of the Catholic faith as a living thing provides a helpful analogy. Pope St. John XXIII said, “We are not on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flowering garden of life.” Being a Catholic in the modern world is not like shielding some fragile relic from the dangers of modernity, but involves planting the seed of the Word of God – an ancient seed, certainly, but a living one – in each new generation, then nurturing its growth. The seed of the Word will grow a bit differently in new environments, but the seed will not grow something completely unfamiliar. To adapt an analogy from St. John Henry Newman, an acorn never grows into a French Bulldog or a microwave oven, but always becomes an oak tree. In the same way, the Church since the Second Vatican Council has made some changes in an effort to adapt to the environment of today’s world, but it would be foolish to expect Catholicism to suddenly turn into a parrot of secular values – even if some in the hierarchy seem to want it to.
As we commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, I encourage you to take some time to become familiar with what it actually said. Read the actual documents – especially Dei Verbum – instead of just relying on those who appeal to the “Spirit” of the Council to push their own agendas or relying on those who reject the Council altogether. For a great overview of the Council, I’d recommend the book Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Said, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church by Fr. Blake Britton. I’m also looking forward to reading the newly-released To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II by George Weigel.