The Major Reforms of Vatican Council II

Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.

1. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium)
   1. Previous to the Council, the faithful took an active part in an array of devotions outside of the liturgy (benedictions, holy hours, rosary, etc.). But at Mass they were largely passive, watching a ritual done for them, but not by them. Mass was done in Latin with the priest’s back to the congregation.
   2. Liturgy defined as “the source and summit of all the church’s activity.” Christ is emphasized as being present under the appearance of bread and wine, but also present in the priest who ministers, the word of God that is proclaimed, and in the assembly of people who gather in Christ’s name.
   3. Principles for Reform: Full and active participation of everyone at the liturgy is strongly emphasized. Scripture should be used more frequently and given a far greater focus. Vernacular now not only allowed, but encouraged. Homilies should be based on Scripture. Communion under both species encouraged. Concelebration by multiple priests allowed.
   4. Other Sacraments and Sacramentals: Restoration of catechumenate for adults (RCIA) introduced. Revision of the rite of Confirmation is confirmed and its connection with Baptism is made clearer. Sacrament of “Extreme Unction” is more accurately named “Anointing of the Sick.”  The Divine Office is made available to all the people, not just the clergy. The reform of the liturgical calendar is meant to bring out more clearly the profoundly Christ-centered nature of the Church’s seasons. Celebrating the lives of Mary and the saints is seen as important, but secondary to the primary focus on Jesus in the Eucharist. Church encourages the use of music that will enable active participation of the congregation, and the architecture of churches should be designed with the liturgy in mind.
2. Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum)
   1. History: three major issues had to be resolved: 1. The relationship between Scripture and tradition; 2. the inerrancy of the Bible; 3. Historical nature of the Bible. The Council brought about a major shift in the Catholic approach to the Bible : from using the Bible as a “proof text” quoted only to support conclusions already drawn,  to seeing it as the primary witness of God’s revelation. And, against its centuries old ban on the faithful reading Scripture on their own for fear of misinterpreting it, the Council strongly encouraged daily reading of Scripture.
   2. The notion of “revelation” was determined to be not just words about God, but a living encounter with God. The approach was more personal and relational. The goal of revelation was “to invite people into fellowship with God and with one another” (DV, 2). Jesus is the living example of this invitation. The Bible is the inspired testimony to the living Word of God, who is Jesus. Faith then is the act of committing one’s whole life to Christ, not just assenting to certain truths or dogmas to believe.
   3. How is divine revelation transmitted? Scripture and tradition “make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God” (DV, 10) instead of being viewed as two separate sources independent of each other. The Church’s insight into revelation develops over time and tradition progresses. The magisterium is not superior to the word of God, but is its servant.
   4. The inspiration and interpretation of Scripture: the Council affirms the divine inspiration of Scripture, acknowledging both the work of God and the work of human beings. Authors of the Bible were not robots taking dictation from God, but God made use of their human abilities and limitations. The inerrancy of Scripture means that the entire Bible is without error, but in the limited sense of only in so far as it deals with our salvation and not as it pertains to scientific or historical accuracy. Finally, the interpretation of Scripture is to make use of the methods of contemporary biblical scholarship.
   5. The historical nature of the Gospels: the Council affirmed that the Gospels developed through a process that can be described in three stages: 1. The ministry of Jesus; 2. A period of oral transmission and preaching by the apostles; 3. The actual composition of the Gospels by evangelists who drew on the oral traditions and retold the story of Jesus in light of the situations in their own churches.
3. Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium)
   1. Described as “the crowning achievement of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II was a council of the church, for the church, and about the church. And nowhwere is the church’s own self-understanding – its sense of itself, its nature and its purpose – laid out as clearly as in LG (this constitution).” (Hahnenberg, p. 37) A profound theological transformation took place that brought about this document. More time was spent on this document than any other at Vatican II.
   2. The church is a sacrament. This teaching underlines the reality that it is intended to be a visible sign of Jesus who is no longer visible to us. It also emphasizes the reality of God’s presence in the community.
   3. Images of the Church: the church is a mystery to the extent that no simple definition can capture it. Consequently, we use biblical metaphors and images: it is likened to a sheepfold, a building, God’s temple, the spouse of Christ and the body of Christ.
   4. A Visible Society and a Spiritual Community: the church of Christ “subsists in” the Catholic church, that is, it exists in its fullness there, but not exclusively. Many elements of truth are found in other churches and Christian communities as well.
   5. The People of God: this notion affirms the common identity and equal dignity of everyone in the church, and it captures the dynamic quality of the church as a people on a journey. The biblical notion of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2: 4-10) had been held suspect by Catholics since the Reformation. But Vatican II recovered this concept. It confidently affirmed the priesthood of the faithful and carefully distinguished it from the ministerial priesthood. The two “differ essentially.” (LG 10). The hierarchical priesthood exists within and in order to serve the priesthood of all believers. Important to note that this notion of the whole people of God preceded any discussion of the hierarchy!
   6. Degrees of Communion With Other Churches: LG speaks of the various ways other religions are related to the people of God. There is an element of optimism about the possibility of salvation for all people who strive to live a good life.
   7. The Hierarchy: The most hotly debated issue in this document was that of collegiality (shared authority among the bishops and the pope). The document begins reasserting that the origins of the episcopate lie in Jesus’ decision to choose twelve apostles. But it adds that the apostles formed a college or permanent assembly headed by Peter. LG sees authority passing to Peter and the apostles together. This authority is then passed to the whole college of bishops, with the pope at its head. Each bishop represents his own church and, together with the pope, all bishops represent the whole church. The priest shares in the priesthood of Christ and serves as an important collaborator with the bishop in shepherding the people of God. LG also restored the ancient practice of the diaconate. The laity are described as those members of the faithful who are not in holy orders or religious life. They are, by baptism, incorporated into Christ and are empowered to play an active part in the mission of the church.
   8. Religious: Members of religious orders embrace the ideals of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. They are a sign to the world, a witness that inspires the whole church to holiness.
   9. Infallibility: probably the most misunderstood teaching of the Catholic church is the teaching on papal infallibility. Papal infallibility is meaningful only within the context of the infallibility that God gives to the whole church. A more nuanced approach recognizes a circular, reciprocal relationship between bishops and the whole church: 1. A teaching emerges first in the life of the community; 2. Bishops reflect on these practices, assess them in light of the tradition and, if necessary, articulate teachings in an official way; 3. These official teachings are then received by the community, where they prompt further reflection.
4. The Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)
   1. No document changed so radically, so many times, as this one. Reason: no model for this kind of text. This document does not begin with the Bible or church doctrine. It begins with the world we live in, with its joys and hopes (gaudium et spes), its grief and anguish.
   2. The Human Person as the Key: The dignity of the human person is a point of contact between the concerns of the world and the concerns of the church.
   3. The Signs of the Times: The overriding characteristic of the world today, the bishops claimed, is the reality of change. This change has social, moral and religious dimensions. GS sees the world caught up in profound transformation, deep shifts that have created imbalances among people.
   4. What does it mean to be a person today? The dignity of the human person flows out of God’s act of creating men and women “in the image of God.” Christ reveals what it ultimately means to be human.
   5. The Human Community: this part of GS combines the biblical notions of being a neighbor to all and to love even our enemies with concern for the common good and the demands of justice.
   6. Human Activity: addresses the advancement of human technology and considers the role of human work. It stresses that human activity ought to be for the benefit of human beings: “People are of greater value for what they are than for what they have.”(GS35).
   7. The Role of the Church in the World: it offers a view of the church that highlights the image of the church as a leaven for the world, and as a sacrament “of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race” (GS, 42).
   8. Marriage and the Family: this part of the document was one of the most hotly debated. It took up issues of new urgency in the 1960’s. Traditional Catholic teaching described marriage according to its purpose, or “ends.” Marriage was for: 1. The procreation of children and 2. The well-being and relationship of the spouses – and in that order. The Council refused to use this distinction, speaking instead of love and fruitfulness as the two ends of marriage, without subordinating one to the other. There was a shift from a legalistic view as a contract to a more personal, biblical view of marriage as a covenant. This marked a breakthrough for official Catholic teaching on sex and marriage.
   9. Economic and Social Life: placed strong emphasis on the growing body of Catholic social teaching seen especially in papal encyclicals. All economic decisions must respect  the two principles of the dignity of the human person and the welfare of society. Economic decisions are to serve people, not the bottom line. Labor takes precedence over capital; workers have a right to unionize and the right to a wage that allows for a dignified livelihood.

NOTE: This paper represents a summary of Edward Hahnenberg’s book A Concise Guide to the Documents of Vatican II.  Much of the wording is his. With rare exceptions, I only quoted those words of the documents themselves.

There is so much richness to the documents of Vatican II that this summation hardly encompasses all that could be gleaned by way of a thorough reading of your own.

It was a truly extraordinary and historic event. Even though we may wish that even more was done at this great Council, and that what was done was more fully embodied in our own personal church experience, it was nonetheless a grace. Thank God we got to experience it in however flawed a fashion! For, as one theologian who was present for the entirety of this Council puts it: “What happened at the Second Vatican Council is a remarkable tale, one that is in danger of disappearing with the generation that witnessed it….An understanding of this story remains essential to an understanding of the Catholic church today, and to a positive engagement in the challenges facing all Christians in the years to come.” (Xavier Rynne in Vatican Council II, p.xiv)