VATICAN II, 1962–1965 term paper

“We must shake off the imperial dust that has accumulated on the throne of St. Peter since Constantine,” announced Pope John XXIII on 25 July 1959. Such an announcement by the jovial, rotund former papal diplomat caught the Vatican bureaucrats (curia) by surprise. By inviting more than 3,000 bishops, theologians and scholars to attend an ecumenical (world) council in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope John initiated the most profound changes in the Roman Catholic Church in four centuries. Unlike every other ecumenical council, there was no heresy, no threat to Church leadership, and no sign of revolution on the horizon. Not surprisingly, Pope John faced stiff resistance from within his curia. One member of the curia bluntly told him, “It is absolutely impossible to open the Council in 1963.” “Fine,” replied a smiling Pope John, “we’ll open it in 1962!”

Presiding over the opening session on 11 October 1962, Pope John announced that the aim of the council was to promote peace and unity, to heal the divisions between all churches, and to bring the Catholic Church fully into the modern world. He outflanked his opponents in the curia by ensuring that non-Italian theologians such as Leo-Josef Cardinal Suenens (Belgium), Yves Congar (France), Karl Rahner (Germany), and John Courtney Murray (United States) would have considerable influence in drafting key council documents. In addition he endorsed progressive voices for reform within the council and welcomed new democratic structures within council procedure. Three years after opening the council, Pope John died and was replaced by Milan’s Cardinal Montini, who took the name Pope Paul VI. A respected scholar familiar with Vatican politics, Pope Paul presided over the final three sessions of the council and continued to press for reform. When the council finally completed its work on 7 December 1968, sixty-five major documents, ranging from “The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” to “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” had been approved. From the very opening of the council, non-Catholic observers from other Christian churches were its special guests. In writing all of the documents, serious attention was given to ensure respect, healing, and reconciliation between the major Christian churches. In a dramatic gesture of reconciliation between East and West, Pope Paul and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople publicly embraced each other and rescinded the degrees of excommunication that had separated Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians since the year 1054. Ecumenical reconciliation was not limited to relations between Christian churches. For the first time the Roman Catholic Church admitted it had much to learn from non-Christian religions and that it “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism,orIslam. Because of the special historical and spiritual affinity between Catholics and Jews, an entire document was focused on Catholic-Jewish relations. The council decreed that Jews were not responsible for the death of Christ and urged Catholic universities to establish centers of Jewish studies to promote deeper scholarly understanding between Christians and Jews. The most durable results of Vatican II were (1) the recognition that the Church is a sacrament, not an institution or organization; (2) the use of national vernacular languages, not Latin, as the preferred language for the celebration of the Mass and all other liturgies; (3) strong statements on religious liberty and ecumenical dialogue; and (4) affirmation of the importance of the laity in assuming positions of leadership within the Church.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. Do a research project on the humor of Pope John XXIII and write an essay on how he used laughter to lead the Church. 2. Read selections from the Second Ecumenical Council’s statements on ecumenism and write a paper tracing how ecumenism has affected Catholicism’s relations with another faith tradition.
3. Interview some older Catholics and ask them to compare their impressions of Catholicism before and after Vatican II.
4. How did Vatican II affect Catholic women? Read the council’s statements on the laity and write an essay focused on the role of women in contemporary Catholicism.
5. Many believe Pope John XXIII will be declared a saint early in the twenty-first century. Investigate the way the Vatican declares beatification and write a paper assessing Pope John XXIII’s prospects.
6. Investigate the career of Pope Paul VI after the end of Vatican II.

Research Suggestions

In addition to the boldfaced items, look under the entry for “John Paul II’s First Twenty Years as Pope, 1978–1999” (#98). Search under Vatican I, papacy, College of Cardinals, and encyclical.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Flannery, Austin, ed. Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents. Northport, N.Y.: Costello Publications, 1975. A well edited collection of all the council’s documents.

Miller, John H., ed. Vatican II: An Interfaith Appraisal. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966. Many of the participants who attended the council, such as Congar and Rahner, took part in this appraisal.

Secondary Sources

Fesquet, Henri, ed. Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John. Translated by Salvator Attanasio. New York: P. J. Kenedy, 1964. A marvelous collection of John XXIII’s quick wit, laughter, and charm.

Glazier, Michael, and Monika K. Helwig, eds. The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1994. A good starting point for all issues dealing with Vatican II.

Hebblethwaite, Peter. John XXIII, Pope of the Council. London: Chapman, 1985. A reliable biography by a respected Vatican scholar. Schillebeeckx, Eduard. The Real Achievement of Vatican II. Translated by H.J.J. Vaughan. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1967. An insightful commentary by one of the most influential theologians of the council.

World Wide Web

“Catholic Information Center on Internet.” http://catholic.net. Search under “Vatican Council” for documents and interpretation of Vatican II.