Chapter 9

1. Vatican II And The Church In The Modern World Chapter 9

2. Midpoint in the twentieth century, the Catholic Church was united in doctrine, worship, and loyalty to the pope and bishops. • In the twentieth century, increasingly secular attitudes towards matrimony and sexuality changed the way the family and society understood itself. • The practice of birth control by means of contraception was spreading, spurred by new oral contraceptives and the sexual permissiveness they encouraged, and by propaganda about a largely fictitious “population explosion.”

3. Abortion already was legal in some places, and efforts were underway to bring about its legalization elsewhere. • Marriage also came under assault from the growing acceptance of divorce. • For the Church, much of the upheaval is associated with the Second Vatican Council, with controversy over how the Council’s decisions should be interpreted and carried out, and with the dissent and defections from the clergy and religious life during and after the council. • Vatican II itself did not encourage or cause these things, but the winds of change it occasioned contributed to bringing them about.

4. Part IBlessed John XXIII and the CouncilThe Caretaker Pope Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born on November 25, 1881. During his time as a delegate in the East, Archbishop Roncalli developed good relations with the Orthodox Church, and during World War II, he worked to assist Jews and other refugees.

5. The Caretaker Pope (cont’d) • In June 1953, Pope Pius XII named Roncalli a cardinal and Patriarch of Venice, just as Pope St. Pius X had been five decades earlier. • In Venice, he became a popular figure known for pastoral zeal and an informal style. • At seventy-six, Roncalli was seen as a popular choice for pope, a well-loved man of the people who could offer a smooth transition between Pius XII and Roncalli’s own successor. • For this reason reason it was thought that he would be a “caretaker pope.” One who would provide a smooth transition and would not ruffle any feathers.

6. Open your text to pg. 402 What was one of Pope John XXIII's first acts as pope in regards to the college of cardinals? What three projects did he announce for his pontificate? What nickname was he given due his kindly and friendly manner?

7. John XXIII Following his election as pope, one of Bl. John XXIII’s first acts was to abolish the rule dating back to the sixteenth century which set the number of cardinals at seventy. Thereafter he took steps to increase the size of the College of Cardinals and make it a more international body. It was a bold and progressive move, but it was only the start for the seventy-six-year-old historian pope.

8. The Caretaker Pope (cont’d) On January 25, 1959, Pope Bl. John XXIII announced to the world three projects for his pontificate: a diocesan synod for Rom, the drafting of a new Code of Canon Law, and an ecumenical council—the first such gathering of the world’s bishops since Vatican Council I (1869-1870) and only the twenty-first ecumenical council in the Church’s history. Bl. John XXIII was a man of faith and piety whose friendly manner won him fame as “Good Pope John.” He cracked jokes and visited prisoners and hospital patients. He took ground breaking ecumenical steps, including establishing a Vatican office for Christian unity.

9. The Caretaker Pope (cont’d) Bl. John XXIII published several notable encyclicals: • Ad Petri cathedram (To the Chair of Peter), written in 1959, discussed the unity of the Church. • Mater et magistra (Mother and Teacher), 1961, developed Catholic social teaching and stressed the duty of developed nations to provide assistance to underdeveloped ones.

10. John XXIII This champion of peace died of stomach cancer on June 3, 1963, after the first session of his most lasting legacy, the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II beatified him on September 3, 2000.

11. The Second Vatican Council • In the apostolic constitution Humanae salutis (For the Salvation of men) of December 25, 1961, formally convoking the Council, he spoke of a “twofold spectacle”—the secular world in “a grave state of spiritual poverty” and the Church, “so vibrant with vitality.” • The Church, Pope Bl. John declared, was strong in faith and enjoyed an “awe-inspiring unity.” • Through an ecumenical council, it hoped to update herself in order to meet the urgent spiritual needs of the world.

12. The Second Vatican Council • The Second Vatican Council took place in four sessions; • October 11-December 8, 1962; • September 29-December 4, 1963; • September 14-November 21, 1964; • and September 14-December 8, 1965. • General congregations were held in St. Peter’s Basilica. About 2,860 of the world’s bishops attended some or all of the Council.

13. Open your books to page 404 How many documents came out of Vatican II? What were the four constitutions which came out of the Council? What were their latin names?

14. The Second Vatican Council (cont’d) • The substantive work of the Second Vatican Council is embodied in sixteen documents. • There are four “constitutions” • on the Church (Lumen Gentium) • on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) • on Liturgy and (Sacrosanctum Concilium) • on the Church in the Modern world (Gaudium et Spes) • nine “decrees” • and the three “declarations” The four constitutions are the central documents of Vatican II and provide the theological basis and vision for the rest.

15. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church • Lumen gentium (Light of Nations) uses scriptural images like Body of Christ and People of God to present the Church as a communion. • The Church, it says, is a hierarchically structured community of faith whose members posses a fundamental equality in dignity and rights while having different but complementary roles in her mission.

16. The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation • Dei verbum (The Word of God) joins sacred tradition in Sacred Scripture as God’s divinely inspired word with approval of the responsible use of contemporary scholarly methods for understanding its historical context and literary forms. • Scripture and Tradition are not two independent sources of Revelation but are intimately and inextricably linked: • “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”

17. The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation It also stresses that the “authentic interpretation” of God’s word “has been entrusted to the teaching office of the Church alone.”

18. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy • Sacrosanctum concilium (The Sacred Council) recognized the liturgy as “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. • At the heart of the Liturgy is the Eucharist, the source or 'font' of grace but also the end to which we direct our worship, God, himself.

19. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World • Gaudium et spes (Joy and Hope) was the Council’s most direct response to Pope Bl. John’s desire that the Church be more directly at the service of the world. • Its famous opening words declare: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”

20. Part II Pope Paul VI and the Postconciliar Years • Paul VI was strongly committed to Christian unity and pursued this cause through meetings with the leaders of other churches and religious bodies. • Pope Paul VI moved vigorously to carry out the decisions of Vatican Council II. • New commissions and other structures were established and detailed documents were issued spelling out steps to take in the reform of the liturgy, the restoration of the permanent diaconate, and other areas. • He approved the New Order of the Mass (that is, the new rite of the Eucharistic liturgy in the Western Church) and published a reformed liturgical calendar.

21. Open to pg. 406-407 • What was the name of Paul VI’s document which had the greatest impact? • What did it talk about? • What did many people expect from the Pope?

22. Humanæ Vitæ • The document of Pope Paul VI that had the greatest impact was his encyclical Humanæ vitæ (On Human Life), published July 25, 1968. • In which, he reaffirmed that the use of artificial contraception is intrinsically wrong. • In Humanæ vitæ, the pope wrote that “the Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life” (no. 11).

23. Humanæ Vitæ (cont’d) Thus the stage was set for Paul VI’s encyclical declaring that there could and would be no change in Catholic doctrine on this matter. He taught: This particular doctrine, often expounded by the magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act. (HV 12)

24. In 1968, Pope Paul VI warned in "Humanae Vitae" of four results if the widespread use of contraceptives was accepted:1. General lowering of moral standards2. A rise in infidelity, and illegitimacy3. The reduction of women to objects used to satisfy men. 4. Government coercion in reproductive matters. Sound Familiar?

25. Open to pg. 407 • Along with dissent from Humanae Vitae, what other factors made for troubled conditions in the Church? • Who was chosen to be the next pope after Paul VI dided? • Why did he choose a double-name?

26. A Culture of Dissent and Defection • Along with dissent from Humanæ vitæ, other factors made for troubled conditions in the Church beginning in the late 1960s. • Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) said, “dissension…seems to have passed over from self-criticism to self-destruction.” • Especially destructive, he added, was the tendency to turn away from what the council actually taught, in favor of a so-called spirit of Vatican II—in reality, a “pernicious anti-spirit.” • (“How many old heresies have surfaced again in recent years that have been presented as something new!” he exclaimed.)

27. A Culture of Dissent and Defection (cont’d) • Reflecting on the turmoil of these years, Pope Paul VI said in a homily on June 29, 1972, that “the smoke of Satan” seemed to have entered the Church (Homily, June 29, 1972). • Worn out by the long struggle to establish order and defend orthodoxy, he died on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 1978.

28. Part IIIThe Restoration of Confidence and Hope Pope John Paul I took two names, John Paul, to signify continuity with his immediate predecessors. Barely a month after his election, on September 28, 1978 the world was shocked to learn the he had died of a heart attack.

29. Pope John Paul II: The Early Years The first non-Italian in more than 450 years. On October 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow was elected the two hundred sixty-third successor of St. Peter as Vicar of Christ and head of the Church. He took the name John Paul II.

30. Exercises to be handed in • Turn to page 426 in your textbook. • Work on questions 1-15 on a separate sheet of paper.

31. JPII: The Early Years • Born in May 1920, Karol Wojtyla grew up in Poland in the small town of Wadowice • His mother died when he was 9 years old • Three years later, his older brother Edmund died • After attending school in Wadowice, he moved with his father to Krakow and attended the Jagellonian University

32. JPII The Early Years • He took part in a theatre group and loved outdoor activities • When WWII broke out and Poland was overrun, the German occupiers closed the university • Wojtyla worked in a stone quarry and later in a chemical factory • He participated in an underground theatre as a cultural protest against the occupation • His father died in 1941

33. JPII The Early Years

34. Pope John Paul II: The Early Years (cont’d) • In October 1942, he entered an underground seminary • After his ordination on November 1, 1946, he traveled to Rome to study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican institution popularly known as the Angelicum. • An active participant in the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Wojtyla participated in drafting the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World and the Declaration on Religious Freedom. Pope Paul VI named him a cardinal in June 1967.

35. Pope John Paul I and the Contemporary World John Paul II spelled out the program of his pontificate in surprising detail in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man), published March 4, 1979. The dignity and destiny of the human person can only be truly understood in the light of Christ.

36. Pope John Paul I and the Contemporary World (cont’d) • John Paul II saw two fundamental threats to Christianity in the contemporary world: • the secular humanism of Marxist Communism, embodied especially in the Soviet Union and the puppet states of the Soviet empire, • and the secular humanism of the consumer society present in the United States and Western Europe, which gave rise to a “culture of death.”

37. John Paul I and the Church He wrote fourteen encyclicals. While taking bold and original stands on many current issues, he firmly upheld traditional positions on matters like contraception, abortion, divorce, the celibacy of priests in the Western Church, and the impossibility of women’s ordination. Beginning in 1981, Pope John Paul’s principal collaborator in dealing with issues of faith and dissent was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger—the future Pope Benedict XVI—Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

38. John Paul II and the Church (cont’d) Pope John Paul II commissioned the first new universal catechism of the Catholic doctrine since the sixteenth century. John Paul II had strong traditional devotions, especially to the Blessed Virgin. In October 2002, he surprised many people by adding to the Rosary five new Luminous mysteries based on Jesus’ public life.

39. John Paul II and His Assassin On the afternoon of May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was struck by three bullets while being driven in a slow-moving convertible through St. Peter’s Square.

40. John Paul II and His Assassin Miraculously, the bullet that entered the Pope missed his main abdominal artery by a fraction of an inch and he survived. He said, “one hand fired, and another [the Blessed Virgin Mary's] guided the bullet.” Later he publicly forgave his would-be assassin. He later met with him personally. He also worked to have the man pardoned for his crime.

41. Part IVThe Church in the United States: The Colonial Era • Missionaries preached the gospel with great courage and dedication. • Outstanding figures included the Franciscan Juan Padilla, Servant of God, martyred by Indians in Kansas around 1540, and six French Jesuit priests and two lay assistants, known as the North American Martyrs, who were killed by the Iroquois between 1642 and 1649 in parts of what are now northern New York and Ontario. • These latter were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

42. The Colonial Era (cont’d) • Probably the best known of these heroic martyrs was the Jesuit priest St. Isaac Jogues who died in 1646. • Thanks to the zeal of such missionaries, many Indians did become Christians—for example, Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, a young Mohawk woman who was baptized in 1676 and died four years later at the age of twenty-four; she was beatified in 1980; her feast day is celebrated on July 14.

43. Part VCatholicism and the Birth of a NationThe Revolutionary Years (1775-1783) • Catholics, few though they were, played a considerable role in the new country’s emergence. • The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution rejected the idea of an established national church and guaranteed the right of free exercise of religion.

44. The Post-Revolutionary Period • In 1789 Baltimore was designated the first diocese of the new country, and Father Carroll was named its bishop after a vote by the priests. John Carroll lays the cornerstone for the Cathedral of the Assumption in Baltimore

45. The Carroll Family and the Founding of the United States • John Carroll was probably the most influential Catholic figure in the establishment of the Church in America. • The first half of the nineteenth century saw a number of outstanding figures in American Catholicism. • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), a convert from Episcopalianism and widowed mother of five, began the Sisters of Charity in the United States and was canonized in 1975. Her feast day is celebrated on January 4.

46. Part IVA Church of Immigrants • Massive Catholic immigration from Europe to the United States began early in the nineteenth century and continued well into the twentieth century. • Of the nearly three million Catholic migrants who came between 1830 and 1870, most came from Ireland, Germany, and France. • The 1880s saw more than one million additional catholic immigrants, with Catholics from Eastern and Southern Europe—Poles, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Italians, and others—joining the influx. • The Catholic Church was the largest religious body in the country by about the 1860s.

47. The Rise of Anti-Catholicism The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk It was written by Protestant ministers. The book helped fuel anti-Catholic violence throughout the United States. The 1850s brought the Know-Nothing movement (so named because members were instructed to say they knew nothing about its activities), which sought to exclude foreigners and Catholics from public office.

48. The Rise of Anti-Catholicism (cont’d) • The Know-Nothings were a significant political force until about 1860. • Catholic political strength, however, grew during these years, especially in urban areas of the East and Midwest where the Irish proved skillful at political organization. • However, anti-Catholicism remained a factor in American life throughout the rest of the century and much of the century that followed.

49. Part VII - Growth and Conflict • American Catholicism continued its remarkable expansion after the Civil War, with dioceses, parishes, educational institutions at all levels, hospitals, and other organizations and programs multiplying rapidly. • The provincial councils were followed in 1852, 1866, and 1884 by plenary councils, also held in Baltimore, which legislated for the needs of the expanding Church. • The major figures in American Catholicism in these decades included two who came to represent the opposing sides of the debate then taking shape over Catholic cultural assimilation: Isaac Hecker and Orestes Brownson.

50. Growth and Conflict (cont’d) • Isaac T. Hecker (1819-1888) was a convert to Catholicism who first became a Redemptorist priest, then founded a new religious community, the Missionary Priests of St. Paul the Apostle (Paulists), committed to the conversion of Protestant America. • In order to evangelize effectively, Hecker argued, the Church in the United States had to be fully and unreservedly American. • Orestes Brownson (1803-1876), the leading Catholic intellectual of his day, had been part of the New England philosophical and religious movement called Transcendentalism before becoming a Catholic in 1844, the same year as his friend Hecker. • A writer and social critic, he was editor of a periodical called Brownson’s Quarterly Review.