This year, 2012, marks the 50th anniversary of
the opening of the Second Vatican Council, otherwise known as Vatican II. While most Catholics are intimately
familiar with this groundbreaking event (as it radically changed the way Catholics
worship), many Protestants are left wondering, “What is this Vatican II that
I’m always hearing about? And why
does it matter to me?”
When Pope John XXIII called the council only ninety days
into his pontificate, nobody could anticipate the colossal legacy of renewal
and reform that would be inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council. The son of Italian peasants, the
lovable Pope John was famously asked why he called the council. It is reported that “Good Pope John”
opened a window and said, “I want to throw open the windows of the Church so
that we can see out and the people can see in.”
This symbolic act would characterize the great aggiornamento (or “updating”) that the
Catholic Church would welcome as a product of the four-year deliberations of
Vatican II between 1962 and 1965.
In the four hundred years since the beginning of the Reformation, the
Catholic Church’s posture to both Protestants and the modern world at large was
primarily closed, defensive and triumphalistic. As the humble servant of the servants of God, Pope John
XXIII effectively flung open the arms of the Church to embrace and illuminate
the world as the “city on a hill” Christ called her to be.[1]
What is an
“ecumenical council” anyway?
To provide a little background, Vatican II was the 21st
ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. These historical councils have been called throughout the
history of the church to settle theological disputes, define Christian doctrine
and promote the effective promulgation of the gospel throughout the known world
(the word ecumenical comes from the
Greek word oikoumene which means “the
inhabited world”).
Interestingly, the precedent for ecumenical councils comes
from the Bible. More specifically
their model draws from the fifteenth chapter of Acts of the Apostles where Peter, Paul, Barnabas and a whole host
of elders and apostles proclaimed the true gospel at the Council of Jerusalem.[2] Here the early church, as a forerunner
to the twenty-one ecumenical councils that would follow to date, gathered to
challenge unorthodox teaching (in this case the obligation to follow Mosaic law
as Christians) and to proclaim that “we believe it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus that we are saved.”[3]
These biblically based councils have been convened throughout
history to adjudicate some of the most intense disputes and define some of the
most critical formulations of Christian theology. The first official ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea
(325 A.D.), condemned Arianism, which had denied that Jesus was fully God. The Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.)
repudiated Pelagius and his contention that humanity could overcome sin without
God’s help. At the Council of
Chalcedon (451 A.D.) the Nestorian heresy was finally condemned. These ecumenical councils, particularly
the first seven, are accepted by both Protestants and Catholics as the authoritative
debates which established the essential doctrinal backbone for Christianity.
Vatican II & the
Reformation
Avery Dulles, American theologian, Jesuit scholar and
Cardinal of the Catholic Church, described Vatican II as “Luther’s Unfinished
Reformation.”[4] Of all the things that could be said
about Vatican II, a crucial point of interest for those seeking unity within
the body of Christ is that the Second Vatican Council can be understood as a
long-awaited acknowledgment of some of Martin Luther’s concerns and an answer to
his original desire to reform, not separate from, the Catholic Church. Marquette University historical
theologian Patrick Casey noted that “Luther had emphasized the Bible as more
important than Aristotle, the need for a vernacular liturgy, the restoration of
the role of the laity, a ministerial clergy, and better preaching – values that
had sustained Protestantism throughout the centuries and values that Vatican II
was now reasserting.”[5]
It would seem that Luther’s Reformation represents one
chapter of an ongoing process of reform and renewal that can be witnessed in historic
events like Vatican II.[6]
We, the church, are ever
in need of continual reformation in the light of Christ and the restoration of
unity among Christians is one of our highest callings. We still have a road to travel before
we arrive at total reunification.
It would be unwise to simply overlook those issues that still divide
us. Yet the openness, honest
dialogue, and prayerful humility of the Second Vatican Council are models for
us all as we hope for unity under “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.”[7] May we continue to open the windows of
our hearts to let the fresh winds of the Holy Spirit breathe new streams of aggiornamento into the church
today.
[1] Mt
5:14.
[2] Acts
15:1-35. Some scholars also
believe that the Council of Jerusalem was documented by the apostle Paul in Galatians
2:1-10.
[3] Acts
15:11.
[4] Patrick
W. Carey, Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ: A
Model Theologian, NY: Paulist Press, 2010, p.159.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Originally
drawn from a sermon delivered by Avery Dulles entitled “Luther’s Unfinished
Reformation,” this thesis was later published in the periodical Catholic Mind, issue 63 (April 1965),
pp.32-35, quotation on 35.
[7] Eph
4:5.
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Thanks so much for your input. I pray that this dialogue may be a blessing to you personally and to the ministry you exercise in Christ.
Michael