On the Council's opening day (October 11, 1962) Pope John
XXIII told the assembly gathered in St. Peter's in Rome that it was imperative
that the Church "bring herself up to date where required" and that
"nowadays the bride of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy
rather than of severity."
It seems to me that “being up to date” and “using the
medicine of mercy” were such revolutionary ideas that some of the Church’s
leadership feared the consequences of implementation. Within a few years of the
Council’s conclusion the aggiornamento express was considerably slowed by Vatican
warnings, fears, and control.
Rescissions and curbs have occurred in several areas, such
as in the exercise of the authority of bishops' conferences, but perhaps the
most obvious examples are in the area of sacred liturgy.
The first major focus of the Council was the Church's
liturgy. At the close of the second session the Council definitively approved
its first major document, Sacrosanctum
Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, with 2147 votes in favor,
4 against, and 1 abstention.
Neither the Constitution on the Liturgy nor the Council
Fathers spelled out the details of the proposed renewal of the liturgy, but
this document provided the principles for its renewal by subsequent commissions
and committees.
The bishops agreed on such matters as:
The bishops agreed on such matters as:
1) the rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity,
within the people's powers of comprehension, not requiring much explanation
(#34);
2) rigid uniformity should be avoided in matters that do not
involve faith or the good of the whole community (#37);
3) territorial ecclesiastical authority, such as bishops' conferences, shall specify adaptations, especially regarding administration of the sacraments, the liturgical language, and sacred music (#39);
3) territorial ecclesiastical authority, such as bishops' conferences, shall specify adaptations, especially regarding administration of the sacraments, the liturgical language, and sacred music (#39);
4) one of the prime guiding norms was to be the promotion of
full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful (#14).
The work on renewal of the liturgy was quickly set in
motion, and a major thrust of the renewal of the liturgy was inspired by decades
of research into early Church liturgy. Looking back to the past, to how things
used to be in the first centuries, gave permission and impetus to how the
renewal could take shape.
In subtle ways, however, over the past twenty years, the
changes prompted by the liturgical renewal have been revoked or undermined. For
example, communion by intinction (the communicant could dip the sacred host
into the precious blood) and the purification of sacred vessels by lay men and
women are now verboten. And then, out
of the blue, we were told we could no longer vocalize at Mass God's name
(Yahweh). We can still say Jesus but we can’t say Yahweh!
Next Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree allowing the use of
the old Tridentine Liturgy, the very rites the Council had revised. One of the Vatican Bureau has instriucted seminaries to offer an optional course for seminarians and priests who wish to use this extraordinary form, the Tridentine Mass
And now the Vatican has over-ridden the English translation of the Roman Missal formulated by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and insists on a more literal translation of the Latin which smacks of rigid uniformity and is clearly a severe challenge to the comprehension of the priest-presider as well as the people. This new Roman translation is to be used beginning November 27, 2011.
And now the Vatican has over-ridden the English translation of the Roman Missal formulated by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and insists on a more literal translation of the Latin which smacks of rigid uniformity and is clearly a severe challenge to the comprehension of the priest-presider as well as the people. This new Roman translation is to be used beginning November 27, 2011.
And most recently, on September 21, 2011, the Diocese of
Phoenix, Arizona, notified its Catholic faithful that communion from the cup
would be restricted to special feasts and occasions. (Note that on November 7, 2011, Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead rescinded this restriction and apologized for any "pastoral problems, hurt and confusion caused by mishandling the dialogue and communication about the norms.")
For many Catholics the Second Vatican Council is ancient
history –it was held from 1962 to 1965. To me it seems like yesterday.
It is the most significant event in Church history in my
lifetime. It released a spirit and put into writing a pattern for how the
Church should fulfill its mission in the 21st century. Church law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church confirm that "the college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council" (Canon 337; CCC 884).
To ignore it, to try to reverse it, is in my humble opinion counter-productive and a stifling of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Join the revolution. Support Vatican II. Read the documents
and celebrate its 50th anniversary!
I agree it is very good to read the actual documents with great care. Many things which came out after Vatican II ended were not driven by those actual documents, but what some wished had been in the documents that were voted on and approved. Thus we had many who made changes which were never part of any official approval. On top of that, any major changes after a meeting of this scope, will make some mistakes that have to be corrected and this is largely a correction.
ReplyDeleteI pray that those who we have trusted to carry out the changes do wo with love and enthusiasm, but suspect many will not be able to put aside pride and vanity.