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Roman Catholic Theology & Vatican II . Faith, Hope and Charity Come Before the Law. Second Vatican Council (1962-65). A council of reform and renewal Key topics Liturgy Church Aim was revitalization Faith, especially a renewed understanding of the centrality of Christ
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Roman Catholic Theology& Vatican II Faith, Hope and Charity Come Before the Law
Second Vatican Council (1962-65) • A council of reform and renewal • Key topics • Liturgy • Church • Aim was revitalization • Faith, especially a renewed understanding of the centrality of Christ • Worship (thus, Hope), and • Renewal of the Christian lifestyle to impact the modern world (i.e., Charity)
Ecclesiology • Emphasizes Church as the People of God • De-emphasizes institution • Mary as mother of the faithful, first disciple, model of faithdistinctly associated with the church (e.g., last section of Lumen Gentium) • Validates ministry of the laity, not to serve the church, but to serve God and God's creatures in caring for the world (Gaudium et Spes) • Calls for Christians to work for justice and peace on the earth
Liturgy Celebration of the entire people • Priest as president of assembly • Priest facing the people • Encouragement of ministries of the laity, e.G., • Lectors • Leaders of the prayers of the people • Extraordinary ministers of the eucharist • Re-establishment of communion under both species, to show that eucharist is a real (although attenuated) meal
Christo-centric • Christ as focus of Christian liturgy & devotions • Importance of homilies • Not sermons • Reflect on the scriptural readings, especially the gospels, to • Edify the faithful • Further their theological understanding, and • Help them live out the Christian life
Church v. World • Positions the church in the world (Gaudium et Spes) • Balances previous other-worldly emphasis in RC teaching • Emphasis on the way Christians should live in this world • I.e., Witness to the three primary evangelical virtues • Faith • Hope, & • Charity • Revives the call to evangelize the world
Scripture • Recognizes need for an intellectual approach to the biblical text • Recognizes advances of historical-critical scholarship in the 19th-20th centuries (dei verbum)
Ecumenism & Inter-Religious Dialogue • Discusses the context of RCC among other Christian traditions • Christianity among other world religions • Remembers the link of Christianity with Judaism • Rejects the anti-Judaism of former RCC teachings and traditions • Recognizes religious freedom as basic human right
Church Polity • restores the principle of subsidiarity, i.e., that tasks should be handled on the smallest scale and at the lowest level of authority possible to this end • the council recovers the authority and role of bishops in their own sees • validates and highlights the role of national synods of bishops • cf. drive to de-centralization with liturgical change of priest facing the congregation during Mass
Faith, Hope and CharityCome Before the Law • The canons must be understood in light of the three central Christian virtues which were the governing aims of the Council • Faith • Hope, & • Charity
Discussion • Are any of these features of the Council a surprise to you? • Which of these do you think are the most important for church life? • What significance do these principles have for understanding the canons? • What differences would there be in your view of "canon law" if these things are taken into account?