How many attended the Second Vatican Council?

Answer 1

The second vatican council was attended by representatives from many churches including bishops, priests, etc.

The Vatican had over 2600 Bishops and another addition to theologians and other experts, adding up to 3000. It consisted of;

• 1089 bishops from Europe
• 489 bishops from South America
• 404 bishops from North America
• 374 bishops from Asia
• 296 bishops from Africa
• 84 bishops from Central America
• 75 bishops from Oceania, , which included Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, New Zealand and Australia
• 63 observers from other Christian Churches
• 52 lay men and women over the whole four years.

Catholic AnswerThe main participants in the Council, and the only voting members were the Bishops of the Catholic Church. They, however, brought with them a number of theological experts, the current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, was one of these experts at the Vatican Council. Also invited were various observers from other religions, including our separated brethren in the East, and protestants, who attended as observers, which was quite a break with earlier Councils, although the Lutherans were invited to the Council of Trent in the 16th century, they refused to attend.

Answer 2

The Second Vatican Council was called by Blessed Pope John XXIII (soon to be canonized). As with all Ecumenical Councils, it involved the bishops of the entire world, although, Vatican Council II was different in that it allowed observers who were not Bishops to attend, although they had no official input nor voting rights. The observers were dignitaries from other religions. The only ones directly involved with the Council, and the only ones to have a vote were Bishops (which includes Archbishops, Cardinals, and, of course, the Holy Father), with their attendants - theological experts, confessors, and such.

Answer 3

.

Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council. 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 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.

Perez Zagorin (How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West) considers the Declaration on Religious Freedom, passed by the Council in December 1965, to be an accomplishment of world importance. It 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 was little more than a footnote to a very important Council. 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.

.

In the first year, the Council addressed the Sacred Liturgy and the means of social communication. They considered the Sacred Liturgy massively important, and their detail and time spent on it shows that. In the second year, the Council addressed the Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, the Decree on the Catholic Churches in the East, and the Decree on Ecumenism. In the third year, they addressed the office of Bishops in the Church, religious life, the training of priests, the declaration on Christian Education, relation of the Church to non-Christian religions, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, the degree on the apostolate of lay people, the decree on religious liberty, the decree on the Church's missionary activity, and the pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. You may view all of these documents at the links below.

Answer 4

Vatican Council, Second, popularly called Vatican II, 1962-65, the 21st ecumenical council (see council, ecumenical) of the Roman Catholic Church, convened by Pope John XXIII and continued under Paul VI. Its announced purpose was spiritual renewal of the church and reconsideration of the position of the church in the modern world. The most spectacular innovation of the council, which convened Oct. 11, 1962, was the invitation extended to Protestant and Orthodox Eastern churches to send observers; the meetings were attended by representatives from many of those churches. Another obvious feature was the diversity of national and cultural origins shown among those who attended from all over the world. One of the announced aims of the conference was to consider reform of the liturgy, primarily to bring the layman into closer participation in the church services and therefore to encourage some diversity in language and practice. Great emphasis was also laid from the beginning upon the pastoral duties of the bishops, as distinguished from administrative duties. The procedure at the conference accorded with democratic practice, and there was lively debate between the "progressive" and "conservative" groups. By the time of its adjournment the council had issued four constitutions, nine decrees, and three declarations. The nature of these statements was conciliatory, avoiding rigid definitions and condemning anathemas. Session II (Sept.-Dec., 1963) produced the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (permitting vernacularization of the liturgy and stressing greater lay participation in the ritual) and the decree on the media of social communication. Out of Session III (Sept.-Nov., 1964) came the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (which espoused the principle of episcopal collegiality with the pope), the decrees on ecumenism and on the Eastern Catholic churches, and the proclamation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the "Mother of the Church." Pope Paul VI opened Session IV (Sept.-Dec., 1965) with the announcement that he was establishing an episcopal synod to assist the pope in governing the church. That final session issued the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World; the decrees on the bishops' pastoral office, on the appropriate renewal of the religious life (i.e., the life of the religious orders), on education for the priesthood, on the ministry and life of priests, on the apostolate of the laity, and on the church's missionary activity; and declarations on Christian education, on religious freedom, and on the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions (which included an important passage condemning anti-Semitism and recognizing "the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock"). Even before the close of the council Pope Paul began to establish a series of commissions to implement the council's wide-ranging decisions. http://www.answers.com/topic/second-vatican-council

Answer 5

The opening session of the Second Vatican Council was nearly 2,400 Bishops from all over the world. There were also numerous "experts" and theologians, as well as observers who were invited from other religions, although only the Bishops were officially members of the Council.

Answer 6

Bl. Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council. He died before it ended, and it was left to his successor Pope Paul VI to reconvene the council and see it concluded.

Answer 7

Pope Paul VI

Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul II

Pope Benedict XVI

Answer 8

Pope John XXIII opened the Council and Pope Paul VI closed it.