What was the Second Vatican Council about?

Answer 1

A:Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council, but he died before it ended, and it was left to his successor Pope Paul VI to reconvene the council and see it concluded. The brief for the Council was to update the Catholic Church for the modern era. It introduced liturgical changes to the mass, defined the roles of the bishops and, most importantly of all, changed the Catholic Church's teaching on the dignity of man and the absolute right of all to religious freedom, unhindered by state or Church. The Council's most important outcome, the Declaration on Religious Freedompassed by the Council in December 1965 was an accomplishment of world importance.

The previous declarations on these issues were contained in the Syllabus of Errors, issued by Pius IX in 1864, in response to the Enlightenment. It was considered by Catholic theologians as having binding force, although opinion was divided as to whether each and every statement defined in the Syllabus as false was infallibly false. It condemned as false statements requiring separation of Church and state, as well as all statements in support of religious freedom. In states where Catholics are in the minority, they have the right to public worship. In states where others faiths are in the minority, they have no right to public worship because only the true faith has the right to public worship.

The Declaration on Religious Freedom signified a complete reversal of the Catholic Church's former attitude to toleration and announced its adherence to religious freedom as a universal principle, contemporary obligation and necessity. Fiercely debated and meeting with considerable resistance from some Vatican officials and a number of bishops, it states, "the human person has a right to religious freedom." It asserts that all men are to be immune from coercion by individuals, social groups, or any human power, so that "In matters religious no one is forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs. Nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits." Furthermore, "the right of parents are violated, if their children are forced to attend lessons or instructions which are not in agreement with their religious beliefs."

The Declaration also acknowledged that the Church had acted at times in ways "which were less in accord with the gospel and even opposed to it," but does not express any contrition or apology for the Church's record of religious persecution.

AnswerWith all due respect to my esteemed colleague, I would have to say that the Dignitatis Humanae, Declaration on Religious Liberty,) a very minor document issued near the end of the Second Vatican Council, had almost no discernable impact whatsoever. That document was aimed at establishing the rights of the Church as opposed to the numerous governments throughout the twentieth century that had tried in various ways to suppress it, notably Nazi Germany and Communist Russia and China. You may read it at the link below.

Probably most noticeable to many Catholics in the first forty years following the Second Vatican Council were things like the Sacred Eucharist and various sacraments being celebrated in the vernacular, the priest facing the people, and a HUGE drop in the participation in the sacrament of Confession, while, at the same time, a HUGE increase in people going to Holy Communion every Sunday. None of these things were a result of the Council at all. As far as vernacular is concerned the Council asked for a very restricted use of the vernacular in the Mass (The use of the Latin language, with due respect to particular law {the Eastern Rites}, is to be preserved in the Latin rites. . . . however . . . a wider use may be made of it, especially in readings, directives and in some prayers and chants." The Council NEVER called for the priest to face the people, and the Council certainly never recommended that people receive Holy Communion while not in a state of grace, while neglecting the Sacrament of Confession.

The Council did call for an increase in ecumenism, particularly with regard to our separated brethren in the East who still maintain the priesthood and the sacraments.

Answer 2

Another answer from our community:

The primary significance of the Second Vatican Council was to attempt to frame the Church's teaching in modern language in an effort to reach men where they currently are and to put various teachings of the Popes over the previous century and a half into a more formal relationship with the Gospel so that, for instance, the social teaching of most of the Popes from Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum through Pope John XXIII, himself, could be better integrated and thus taught. Unfortunately, the message of the Council was hijacked and the "Spirit of the Council" was used to make many unfortunate changes in the Church which were not called for, and were, shall we say, less than helpful, this is now being corrected. We shall not know the full significance of the Second Vatican Council for yet another fifty years, I would say. You will see the full effects of these Council in the later half of the 21st century. No one ever said that the Church moves fast.

Answer 3

The Second Vatican Council was the 22nd Ecumenical Council of the Church, and the first in a century. Unlike all the previous Councils it was not called per se to deal with any particular heresy, and it was not a dogma council, it was called purely to enable the Church to deal better with the modern world, the world which She is called to evangelize. It is of great importance for the Catholic Church, because, as a General Ecumenical Council approved by the Pope, it's call is binding on every Christian in the world, we must listen and understand what it is saying to us, and then go out and put it into action. Unfortunately, for the past 50 years, the Council has not been understood by most of the Church and consequently a "spirit of Vatican II" has been followed instead of the actual Council documents. Pope Benedict XVI took pains to point out that the "spirit of Vatican II" was an hermeneutic of rupture, and thus was heretical.

Answer 4

There have been 21 Ecumenical Councils in the Church, not counting the Council of Jerusalem listed in the book of Hebrews. All are named after the city or place where they were held, thus the last two, Vatican Council I, and Vatican Council II are the last two Ecumenical Councils and both were held at the Vatican.

Answer 5

The First Vatican Council, opened on 8 December, 1869, and adjourned on 20 October, 1870, due to an outbreak of war in Italy. You may read the entire summary at the link below. The Council dealt with errors of modern Rationalism, Materialism, and Atheism in the dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith. Then, in its second dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ dealt with the primacy of the Roman pontiff, on which the "unity, strength, and stability of the entire Church rests, has always been, and is especially now, the object of violent attacks by the enemies of the Church. The third and fourth chapters of this Constitution were most important dealing with (respectively) the primacy and privileges of the Pope, and with his infallibility when speaking on matters of faith of morals to the entire Church.
Their import may be briefly expressed thus: in opposition to the Rationalism and Free-thinking of the present day the first Constitution gives authoritative and clear expression of the fundamental principles of natural and supernatural understanding of right and true faith, their possibility, necessity, their sources, and of their relations to each other. Thus it offers to all of honest intention a guide and a firm foothold, both in solving the great question of life and in all the investigations of learning. The second Constitution settles finally a question which had kept the minds of men disturbed from the time of the Great Schism, and the Council of Constance, and more especially from the appearance of the four Gallican articles of 1682, the question of the relation between the pope and the Church. According to the dogmatic decision of the Vatican Council, the papacy founded by Christ is the crown and centre of the entire constitution of the Catholic Church. The papacy includes in itself the entire fullness of the power of administration and teaching bestowed by Christ upon His Church. Thus ecclesiastical particularism and the theory of national Churches are forever overthrown. On the other hand, it is extravagant and unjust to say that by the definition of the primacy of jurisdiction and of the infallibility of the pope the ecumenical councils have lost their essential importance. The ecumenical councils have never been absolutely necessary. Even before the Vatican Council their decrees obtained general currency only through the approval of the pope. The increasing difficulty of their convocation as time went on is shown by the interval of three hundred years between the nineteenth and twentieth ecumenical councils. The definitions of the last council have, therefore, brought about the alleviation that was desirable and the necessary legal certainty. Apart from this, however, the hierarchy united with the pope in a general council is, now as formerly, the most complete representation of the Catholic Church.

Lastly there were a number of drafts and propositions that were left unsettled, a number of these were revived and brought to completion by Pope Pius IX and his two successors:
To mention a few: Pius IX made St. Joseph the patron saint of the Universal Church on 8 Dec., 1870, the same year as the council. Moral and religious problems, which it was intended to lay before the council for discussion, are treated in the encyclicals of Leo XIII on the origin of the civil power (1881), on Freemasonry (1884), on human freedom (1888), on Christian marriage (1880), etc. Leo XIII also issued in 1900 new regulations regarding the index of forbidden books. From the beginning of his administration Pius X seems to have had in view in his legislative labours the completion of the great tasks left by the Vatican Council. The most striking proofs of this are: the reform of the Italian diocesan seminaries, the regulation of the philosophical and theological studies of candidates for the priesthood, the introduction of one catechism for the Roman church province, the laws concerning the form of ritual for betrothal and marriage, the revision of the prayers of the Breviary, and, above all, the codification of the whole of modern canon law.

Decrees of the First Vatican Council:http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum20.htm

Answer 6

The , opened on 8 December, 1869, and adjourned on 20 October, 1870, due to an outbreak of war in Italy. You may read the entire summary at the link below. The Council dealt with errors of modern Rationalism, Materialism, and atheism in the dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith. Then, in its second dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ dealt with the primacy of the Roman pontiff, on which the "unity, strength, and stability of the entire Church rests, has always been, and is especially now, the object of violent attacks by the enemies of the Church. The third and fourth chapters of this Constitution were most important dealing with (respectively) the primacy and privileges of the Pope, and with his infallibility when speaking on matters of faith of morals to the entire Church.

Their import may be briefly expressed thus: in opposition to the Rationalism and Free-thinking of the present day the first Constitution gives authoritative and clear expression of the fundamental principles of natural and supernatural understanding of right and true faith, their possibility, necessity, their sources, and of their relations to each other. Thus it offers to all of honest intention a guide and a firm foothold, both in solving the great question of life and in all the investigations of learning. The second Constitution settles finally a question which had kept the minds of men disturbed from the time of the Great Schism, and the Council of Constance, and more especially from the appearance of the four Gallican articles of 1682, the question of the relation between the pope and the Church. According to the dogmatic decision of the Vatican Council, the papacy founded by Christ is the crown and centre of the entire constitution of the Catholic Church. The papacy includes in itself the entire fullness of the power of administration and teaching bestowed by Christ upon His Church. Thus ecclesiastical particularism and the theory of national Churches are forever overthrown. On the other hand, it is extravagant and unjust to say that by the definition of the primacy of jurisdiction and of the infallibility of the pope the ecumenical councils have lost their essential importance. The ecumenical councils have never been absolutely necessary. Even before the Vatican Council their decrees obtained general currency only through the approval of the pope. The increasing difficulty of their convocation as time went on is shown by the interval of three hundred years between the nineteenth and twentieth ecumenical councils. The definitions of the last council have, therefore, brought about the alleviation that was desirable and the necessary legal certainty. Apart from this, however, the hierarchy united with the pope in a general council is, now as formerly, the most complete representation of the Catholic Church.

Lastly there were a number of drafts and propositions that were left unsettled, a number of these were revived and brought to completion by Pope Pius IX and his two successors:

To mention a few: Pius IX made St. Joseph the patron saint of the Universal Church on 8 Dec., 1870, the same year as the council. Moral and religious problems, which it was intended to lay before the council for discussion, are treated in the encyclicals of Leo XIII on the origin of the civil power (1881), on Freemasonry (1884), on human freedom (1888), on Christian marriage (1880), etc. Leo XIII also issued in 1900 new regulations regarding the index of forbidden books. From the beginning of his administration Pius X seems to have had in view in his legislative labours the completion of the great tasks left by the Vatican Council. The most striking proofs of this are: the reform of the Italian diocesan seminaries, the regulation of the philosophical and theological studies of candidates for the priesthood, the introduction of one catechism for the Roman church province, the laws concerning the form of ritual for betrothal and marriage, the revision of the prayers of the Breviary, and, above all, the codification of the whole of modern canon law.

Answer 7

The best known outcome of the Second Vatican Council is that it modernised the liturgy, to the acclaim of some Catholics and the despair of others. The significance of these changes are probably overrated and in any case will not really be known until this generation has passed away.

Of arguably greater significance is that the council recognised the validity of religious toleration. Pope Pius IX had issued the Syllabus of Errors, condemning free speech and religious freedom because "error has no rights". Underpinning this position was the conviction that Catholicism is the only true religion. This required that whenever possible, Catholicism be established as the state religion with the state being governed by Catholic principles. In states where Catholics are in the minority, they have the right to public worship. In states where others faiths are in the minority, they have no right to public worship because only the true faith has the right to public worship.

The council's Declaration on Religious Freedom, which bears the subtitle On the Right of the Person and of Communities to Social and Civil Freedom in Religious Matters overturned the Church view formalised by Pius IX. The Declaration states, "the human person has a right to religious freedom." In defining this freedom, it asserts that "all men are to be immune from coercion" by individuals, social groups, or "any human power," so that "in matters religious no one is forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs. Nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits." The Declaration also acknowledges that in "the vicissitudes of history" the Church had acted at times in ways "which were less in accord with the gospel and even opposed to it."

The Second Vatican Council fully reversed policies put in place by Pope Pius X, when he attempted to stamp out all traces of 'Modernism'. Amongst other things, anybody found showing "a love of novelty in history, Archaeology or biblical exegesis" was to be excluded from all teaching positions, bishops were to establish a 'Vigilance Council' to inform the bishop of anybody possibly tainted with the heresy, and every three years they were to submit to the Vatican a sworn report on how these provisions were being fulfilled. The Second Vatican Council explained that the church is not against the modern world, nor is it for the modern world. It is in the world and in dialogue with it.

Answer 8

The Second Vatican Council was an Ecumenical Council called by Blessed Pope John XXIII to "update" the Church in relating to the modern world.