"What Happened at Vatican II" - A Review and Reflection

I recently finished an excellent book by Fr. John W. O’Malley, “What Happened at Vatican II.” It is a very readable account of the Second Vatican Council, which ran from1962 to 1965.

He begins by the outlining the condition of the Catholic Church in the decades leading up to Vatican II, the view of the Church, the hierarchy, the place of the laity within the Church at that time, the involvement of the Church in the world of the 19th and early 20th century.

He then describes the opening of the Council, and covers the main events of the four sessions; the documents, the debates, the behind the scenes, and the results. He writes a narrative that anyone can understand and appreciate.

Reading this book has given me a new appreciation of the accomplishments of Vatican II, what the Council Fathers were striving for, what the spirit of the Council was, and how endangered that spirit is.

For me, the main themes of the Council of importance are first of all that we are all called to holiness. That all the baptized have a share in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly ministries of Jesus Christ.

This means that the laity are no longer observers of the liturgy, but are called to be active participants in it. The laity, as did the clergy, received the command from Christ to proclaim the Good News, by word and life. The means that the laity has a voice concerning the life of the Church, letting their pastors know their needs, sharing their opinions on issues of importance for the Church.

I still sense distrust among some of the bishops about the laity; that the laity must be kept separated from the sanctuary; that the sacred acts must be hidden from their eyes; that they are unworthy to receive the Body of Christ in their hands. There are bishops who have forgotten that they are called to be servant leaders, not lords. That they must listen to the laity, as they share their experiences, and struggles of living the Gospel.

Many wonderful things came out of Vatican II. Their implementation has been a long, slow process, with mistakes being made, and sometimes a desire to turn back the clock. I can only hope and pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will overcome our human weakness, enflame our hearts once again, and keep the spirit of Vatican II alive.

Past Thoughts on the Laity from Father Andrew Greeley

Father Andrew Greeley is a famous sociologist, fiction writer, journalist, and above all, a priest. I have enjoyed reading some of his mystery novels and his reports on past papal elections. I recently read his autobiography, “Furthermore! Memories of a Parish Priest,” published in 1999. While reading this book, I came across the following:

“The Catholic Church has yet to make its peace with the inevitability of the freedom of its laity. It does not like one bit the laity’s assumption of the right to make its own decisions, and of its demand that it be persuaded instead of being ordered. Indeed, the Church usually works on the implicit assumption that it is still dealing with peasants of a century ago who did what they were told (usually) without question, without argument, without the demand to be heard, consulted, persuaded. May pastors still assume that they have the same influence and power that their role models from a generation or two ago had. Catholics, they believe, still do what they’re told.

It ought to be patent by now that this is not so. When Church leaders pretend to deny that the souls of the laity are now shaped by a constant exercise of freedom or lament the passing of the good old days when there was a lot less freedom, they have turned their faces against history. Moreover, they miss the point of their own tradition which has believed the virtue is formed by the frequent repetition of free human acts. In any event the days of the docile peasant and the not so docile immigrant parish are gone and they will never return. The Church must adjust to the fact that in the European and North Atlantic world at any rate, the day of the free laity whom makes their own decisions after reflecting in the issues, who want to be heard, consulted, persuaded, in the world in which we live and work. In the present milieu, the laity reserve to themselves the right to say on what terms they will be Catholic. Nothing will change the fact, neither orders from Rome or hysterical ranting from the tiny fundamentalist Catholic minority.”

Although Father Greeley comes across strong, I agree with his sentiments. I firmly believe that one of things that came out of the Second Vatican Council is the realization that the laity is a part of the People of God. That as members of the Body of Christ, the laity has a share; along with the clergy and religious; “in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.” (Para. 897, Catechism of the Catholic Church).

As I think I may have written in an earlier post, I believe in the tradition of the bishops as shepherds of the Catholic community. However, I do believe that the laity has a right to give input on how decisions are made in this community. We have a right to share our experiences and knowledge; our hopes and fears. We have a right to be listened to by our bishops; and this means established consultative bodies, freely elected by the laity.

On a closing note on Father Greeley; in November 2008, he suffered severe head trauma from a serious fall and has been recuperating ever since. May the Lord Jesus be with him and heal him.

"Fostering an Open and Trusting Dialogue"

“Called like Saint Francis to rebuild the Church and inspired by his example, let them devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the pope, bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialogue of apostolic effectiveness and creativity.” (Article 6b, Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order)

David Gibson, in Politics Daily, wrote a column on the U.S. bishops desire to restore unity in the American Catholic Church. Mr. Gibson makes the observation that this could be difficult, when even the bishops themselves are divided over some issues, or on how to address them. There are differences among some of them on how to best promote, some would say, enforce, Catholic teaching among a growing fractured, disaffected faithful. Some bishops seem to tilt towards a more authoritarian approach, reminding Catholics that it is the bishops that call the shots. They seem to have little respect for the laity, at least where the life of the Church is concerned. Gibson writes that these bishops appear to want a return to old days, when the laity “pray, pay and obey.” .

But those days are long gone, at least in this country. The changes began when the bishops of the Second Vatican Council declared that the laity has an active role to perform in the life of the Church. And that they have a duty to let their priests and bishops know about their spiritual needs. This means sometimes standing up to their local priest or bishop, letting their feelings be known. And with the way many of the U.S. bishops mishandled the clergy sexual abuse scandal, there are laypersons calling on their bishops to be more accountable for their actions. And if the bishops do not listen or respond, people get angry, whether they are on the left or right of the spectrum.

Mr. Gibson had an interview with Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, AZ. Bishop Kicanas is advocating a spirit of dialogue between the bishops and laity, that while the bishops do govern, it will help if they did so in a spirit of collaboration with the faithful. To me, this seems to be an approach that has the potential to reinvigorate the Church in America. Yes, the bishops have the final say in decisions, but I think a majority of Catholics accept that. What I think Catholics want is input in the decision making process. They want their voices heard and respected. Now this does not always make for an orderly process, but if the bishops make a real effort to dialogue, to really listen and respect the opinons of all American Catholics, maybe the laity in return will really listen to what the bishops have to say.

Proclaiming Christ by Their Life and Words

“They have been made living members of the Church by being buried and raised with Christ in baptism; they have been united more intimately with the Church by profession. Therefore, they should go forth as witnesses and instruments of her mission among all people, proclaiming Christ by their life and words.” (Art. 6a, Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order)

June 30th is the feast day of Blessed Raymond Lull, a Spaniard who lived from 1235 to 1315. He was at one time a member of the court of the king of Mallorca, but after hearing a sermon, he suddenly desired to convert his life. He became a Secular Franciscan and became a hermit for about nine years. He left his solitude when he was inspired to promote missionary work, by founding a college to train future missionaries in foreign languages and in techniques on how to debate with Muslims over points concerning the faith. He traveled through Europe, trying to convince bishops and the Pope on the importance of setting up such colleges in their dioceses. Although he remained a layman, he himself journeyed to North Africa in 1314 as a missionary. Unfortunately, he was stoned by a mob of angry Arabs; he died from his wounds back in Mallorca.

As mentioned above, Raymond, although heavily involved in missionary work, never felt called to be ordained, and remained a layperson. One of the important things that came out of the Second Vatican Council was the realization that the laity has a role in the mission of Church to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that fulfilling that mission is not just restricted to the clergy and religious. Some of us are called to be teachers, catechists, but the majority of us make Jesus known to the world by the way we live His Gospel; by the way we obey His command to love one another.

Engaging Bishops in dialogue

Canon 212: 2-3; “The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.” (Code of Canon Law)

“Called like Saint Francis to rebuild the Church and inspired by his example, let them devote themselves energetically to living in full communion with the Pope, bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialogue of apostolic effectiveness and creativity.” (Art 6b, Secular Franciscan Order Rule of 1978)


In San Antonio, Texas, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is meeting. Already, there are some commentators who have doubts about what will come out of this meeting, whether they will really address the needs of the Catholic laity or that of the country. (http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2009/06/the_bishops_agenda.html) Catholic laypersons on the USCCB’s National Advisory Council have suggested that the bishops discuss the state of the economy and how it is affecting people, especially the poor. (http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/lay-group-asks-bishops-tackle-economic-crisis) It needs to be seen whether they will listen or not. In either case, we need to keep talking, need to keep asking our bishops and priests to enter into dialogue with us, to hear our experiences of what it mean to be a Catholic in today’s world. They need to hear of our struggles to live the Gospel, and how they are either helping or hindering us. Some may not know how to listen, some may not want to hear what we have to say, and there may be a few who do not care. Still we need to persist, respectfully, courteously, but persistently. It is our right; it is our duty to the Church.