And Now: 35 Years
After Vatican II
As the year 2000 draws
to a close, St. Anthony Messenger interviews Cardinal
William Keeler, someone journalists would term a primary source
for information on Vatican II. An active participant in the workings
of the Council, Keeler is in a privileged position to both recall
what the Council participants intended to accomplish and to observe
how far the Church has progressed since the Council's close in 1965.
dialogue. In Keeler's firsthand experience, interfaith
dialogue has been well received by the post-Vatican II Church,
and long strides have been made toward Christian unity and Catholic-Jewish
2. Liturgical reform.
Changes in the way we celebrate the liturgy have been well received,
Keeler believes. Liturgical reform had the most visible impact,
especially in moving to the language of the people.
3. Scripture. Catholics'
knowledge of Scripture is a disappointment. Surveys conducted in
1985 indicate that Catholics know even less about the Scriptures
than they did prior to the Council. Keeler feels this is still true
Keeler's comments on our knowledge of the Scriptures to those of
Richstatter and Wintz above. How would you explain the different
perceptions? Do you agree with his conviction that we teach the
Scriptures even less now than we did 35 years ago? How often do
you read or study the Scriptures? Do you appreciate the varied readings
in the sacramental liturgies?
4. The Church. Cardinal
Keeler observes that two of the major documents of Vatican II, The
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and The Church Today
have been less than successfully implemented or fulfilled. The new
Catechism of the Catholic Church, however, has helped familiarize
many with the Church's teaching.
Keeler does find encouragement in the stronger role of conferences
of bishops in leading the Church. Keeler stresses that "…people
don't appreciate how much has been delegated to conferences of bishops
and individual bishops that once was reserved to Rome." Keeler refers
to a "… much vaster pool of experience in pastoral wisdom" supporting
Rome in the development of policies. (This development may be far
less visible to the average person than, say, the liturgical reforms.)
Note George Lindbeck's
perceptions in his 1994
interview on how the Church functioned organizationally. While
he and other non-Catholic observers at the Council agreed that the
Church was not a monolith, with commands obeyed from the top down,
he realized that he still fully expected conciliar changes to occur
smoothly with direction from Rome. Lindbeck admits that this was
a naïve (and unhistorical) perception. All councils, he says, have
been followed by disturbance as the Church struggles to understand
and implement change.
For an example of
a bishop's conference acting in a teaching role, see the Los
Angeles Times (or other major news publications) of November
15, 2000. The National Conference
of Catholic Bishops called for widespread changes in America's
criminal justice system and condemned the Supreme Court's ruling
on late-term abortions.
Leaders in the
Church worry about its teachings being perceived as fuzzy. Do you
perceive Church teaching to be unclear? If so, what specific items
do you find unclear? What resources do you use to clarify your perceptions/thoughts?
Day 2000 in Rome, Cardinal Francis Stafford reminded the attendees
of the last words uttered by Vatican II as it closed in 1965. These
words were addressed to youth. "We exhort you to open your hearts
to the dimensions of the world, to heed the appeal of your brothers,
to place your youthful energies at their service… Fight against
all egoism. Refuse to give free course to the instincts of violence
and hatred which beget wars and all their train of miseries. Be
generous, pure, respectful and sincere, and build in enthusiasm
a better world than your elders had."
Just as the older
generations of women athletes at the 2000
Olympics in Australia passed the torch forward to younger athletes
to light the giant flame, the Council's elders offer the light of
Christ to the Church's younger generations to light up the world.
As a parent or
teacher, how do you pass the torch to your children? As a young
person in today's Church, does anyone challenge you to carry the
torch of Christ's light? How do you respond?
Are you open to
being surprised by the Spirit?
and Internet Resources for This Article
Key Trends in the Church Today," Catholic
Update (CO198), Jack Wintz, O.F.M., St.
Anthony Messenger Press, 1997.
Since Vatican II: The Monastic Contemplative Dimension," Wayne Teasdale,
Spirituality Today, Summer 1991.
Sacraments: How Catholics Pray, Father Thomas Richstatter,
St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1995,
II: An Interview with George A. Lindbeck," FIRSTTHINGS,
the Journal of Religion and Public Life. A 1994 interview with a
leading Lutheran theologian who was a "delegated observer" at Vatican
The Rhine Flows
Into the Sea, Father Ralph Wiltgen. A history of Vatican II.
The Archdiocese of
Denver offers an online
course on the history and the documents of Vatican II.