Forum: Vatican II
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Vatican II was a great turning point in the history of the Catholic Church. The Council marked the emergence of an entirely new and different religion That fact is not understood or accepted by many who practice the ancient Catholic version of Christianity, including many of its bishops and priests. It remains unquestionably true, nevertheless.
The Church considered itself a body of believers considerably different from the Church that emerged from the Council. The pre-conciliar Church was centered mainly on the popes, while the post conciliar Church was entered entirely upon Jesus of Nazareth.
That alone marks a considerable change. The Catholic Church is now a body of believers in Jesus of Nazareth, first and foremost. The popes hold the chief offices of leadership in the community and are of enormous importance, but they are completely secondary to Jesus, and would have it no other way.
The impact of Vatican II is only now being felt throughout the Church
and it is being widely welcomed in most quarters. Understandably, the popes are
reluctant to admit this publicly since it undermines most of their position. The same
may be said of their principal lieutenants, whose jobs depend upon the favor of
the great man.
The history of the new few millennia will be the history of the acceptance of this new view of the Church. As much of the old order as can be utilized will be so, but the new is here and here to stay. That is in part due to the work of Popes John Paul II and Pope Benedict, two of the staunchest preservers of the ancient order. These men, following their deepest convictions, helped bring into being the modern Church, embracing freedom of thought, equality and the full participation of their various communities in the one work of the Gospel. Not all of their acolytes will be so favorably treated by history.
In Vatican Council II Jesus of Nazareth found his proper place at the center of Church life. The principal resources of the community, its Creeds, its Scriptures, its Sacraments, the church Organization and the Liturgical Year were devoted to making him better known and appreciated. It was truly a new beginning, the new beginning of a new religion.’
In Vatican ‘Council II Jesus of Nazareth begins his public ministry with his emergence from the waters of ‘’Baptism, with a clear message for his followers, on the meaning of God. For Jesus and his followers God is a being with endless love, forever accepting his human creatures no matter what they do.
Thus, Jesus is a marginal Jew of the 1st century A.D. with a clear idea of God. To know him and follow him it is essential to understand this.
To understand Jesus’ concept of the true nature of God is absolutely necessary for a follower of his. But, it is the barest beginning, and this understanding is to be found in Jesus, treatment of his parables. To be a follower of Jesus takes a full-time effort and is a constant struggle One must not only do battle with the enemies within oneself, one must simultaneously engage in battles with a whole host of external enemies.
Jesus of Nazareth was the founder and is the chief person in the Christian religion. Even the popes who have gained control of organized religion and are the chief officers of the church acknowledge that fact. His is the name and theirs is the power.
Despite these facts, Jesus remains more a figure who is honored than one who is obeyed. Control of the Church and its people is firmly in the hands of the pope, as has been the case for centuries, In sort, the Church has been more trusted and obeyed than its founder. How this came to be is one of the more fascinating stories from the history of its peoples. The popes, have generally played their hands rather well and have gained, with the help of some of its scholars, notably Augustine of Hippo, and have, as a result more loyalty for the institution they were heads of than for its founder.
This entire course of events has changed forever with Vatican II. This is but one example of its importance to the Church, the history of the West and, consequently, to all human history.’The popes are religious leaders and national figures of the fist importance.
Nevertheless, their day is over. Even such strong papalists, such as Pope John-Paul II, seemed to recognize this. The next decades will see the gradual recognition of this fact by most Christians. It is hardly meant to discourage Christianity, simply to point out its weaknesses and its youth.
This leaves Christianity back where it started, with Jesus of Nazareth, a charismatic figure of the first century, A..D. To even begin to understand him we have to know a great deal about the Judaism practiced in that time and place. Fortunately, that knowledge is now available to us for the first time since he walked the paths of Palestine. To make good use of this knowledge will not be an easy task. Jesus, himself,’ described by a current biographer as a marginal Jew, will be even more difficult to understand. Where he stood on such basic issues as the Jewish law is extremely difficult to ascertain.
The Church institution helps us in our contacts with Jesus, through making better use of its primary resources, namely the Scriptures, the Creeds, the Sacraments and the basic organization, that is, the parish. Institutions are necessary but always prove dangerous to human freedom. Jesus seemed to sense that fact and avoided creating any religious institution. Never forget the church is an institution, a human organization not essentially different from General Motors. Jesus’ thinking on the problem remains unknown.
One issue the religious institution alone has helped mankind deal with is death, As everyone must die, this poses a universal need So, the religious establishment is greatly treasured on this basis alone.
There are a few moments in every man’s life when words are simply not enough, Action is required, and that means ritual. The religious establishment and the military know this quite well, Death is universally regarded aw such a moment. Here again, the religious establishment proves its worth to humankind.
The tension between the man and the religious establishment named after him remains real. Whether or not, he would have agreed with such a move ia unknown; it is part of the mystery of the man himself.
Vatican Council II was real, however, Dealing with its implications will be the work of centuries. In some forty years, it has already transformed the Church beyond recognition.
What do you think?
