Congress on “Vatican II in the Pontificate of John Paul II”

Document sans nom

From October 28 to 30, the St. Bonaventure Theological Faculty and the Institute for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate of John Paul II sponsored an international congress in Rome on the theme: “Vatican II in the Pontificate of John Paul II” on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his election. At the same time, the Institute for Documentation and Study put on display an exhibit of photos of Karol Wojtyla during the Second Vatican Council.

During the congress, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See, specified that in order to interpret the Second Vatican Council, “we must speak of it adequately, and defend it against biased interpretations.” The cardinal also mentioned “the constant effort” on the part of the Polish pope “to apply the conclusions of the Council with consistency not only according to its spirit, but also according to the letter.” “After the Council, a fervent movement developed in the Church, bearing positive fruits, but also some disquieting exaggerations.”

Benedict XVI addressed a message to Fr. Marco Tasca, Minister General of the Friars Minor Conventual and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure Seraphicum for the opening of the congress. Recalling first the 50th anniversary of the election of John XXIII, who convoked this Council (1962-1965), Benedict XVI added that the documents of Vatican II have lost none of their timeliness. “Indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society.” Quoting John Paul II, he underlined that: “In practically all his documents, and especially in his decisions and his behaviour as Pontiff, John Paul II accepted the fundamental petitions of the Second Vatican Council, thus becoming a qualified interpreter and coherent witness of it. His constant concern was to make known to all the advantages that could stem from acceptance of the Conciliar vision, not only for the good of the Church but also for that of civil society itself and of the people working in it.” Benedict XVI specified that: “To make divine salvation accessible to contemporary man was Pope John XXIII’s main reason for convoking the Council, and the Fathers worked with this in mind.”

“We are all truly indebted to him for this extraordinary ecclesial event. The multiple doctrinal legacy that we find in its Dogmatic Constitutions, Declarations and Decrees still stimulates us to deepen our knowledge of the Word of God in order to apply it to the Church in the present day, keeping clearly in mind the many needs of the men and women of the contemporary world,” he continued. (Sources: apic/imedia/VIS)

Our comment: We note that Benedict XVI considers his predecessor as “the qualified interpreter and the coherent witness” of the Second Vatican Council “in practically all his documents, and especially in his decisions and his behaviour as Pontiff.” The hermeneutic of continuity proposed by the present pope, in 2005, must be considered thus, without leaving aside the homage he addresses today to John Paul II and Vatican II, “this extraordinary ecclesial event” whose “teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society.”

Nevertheless, Benedict XVI acknowledges that the “doctrinal legacy” of this Council – which only meant to be pastoral – is “complex.” Was it because it was “keeping [too] clearly in mind the many needs of the men and women of the contemporary world,” that the Council partly lost sight of the demands of the deposit of faith, truth revealed once and for all? Was not its attempt to conciliate the contemporary needs with the immutable exigencies which made its teaching particularly “complex” … and has left Catholics confused for more than 40 years?