The Church and the Other: Mediation and Friendship In Post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Ecclesiology (original) (raw)

Vatican II and the World Council of Churches

Louvain Studies, 2008

The aim of this article is to examine the vision for unity proposed by the Second Vatican Council and the World Council of Churches respectively, in order to contribute to a renewal of ecumenism. It begins by briefly outlining the contribution of Vatican II and of the World Council of Churches to the coveted goal of unity, with particular reference to their respective elaborations of the psychology of ecumenism, at that movement's inception. The article considers how Yves Congar (1904-95) and Willem A. Visser 't Hooft (1900-85), two of the great pioneers of ecumenism in the twentieth century, contributed jointly to its advancement. The penultimate part of the article considers the indispensable role of dialogue in the methodologies of ecumenism proposed by the principal protagonists both within their particular ecclesial milieux and beyond. An important objective is to assess whether the specific models for ecumenicity at the heart of the World Council of Churches and of the Second Vatican Council contribute to a symbiotic receptivity or to an inevitable clash of ever divergent paradigms, or both.

TOWARDS A FUNDAMENTAL THEOLOGICAL RE‐INTERPRETATION OF VATICAN II

The Heythrop Journal, 2008

This paper argues for a fundamental theological re-interpretation of Vatican II ecclesiology that acknowledges not one but two principal ecclesiologies inspired by the Council documents. Ecclesiastical authorities and some theologians have acknowledged that communion ecclesiology is the principal ecclesiology of Vatican II. However, this conception does not sufficiently account for the full range of relations with the Other that is a distinctive development in the Church's self-understanding inaugurated by Vatican II; such an understanding is better represented by an ecclesiology of friendship. I thus argue there are two ecclesiologies reflected in the Council documents: communion ecclesiology and another to be developed based on mutual relations and friendship with the Other. The latter is distinctively Ignatian in spirit; further, these two ecclesiologies are not fundamentally opposed to each other but are united in the missions of the Son and the Spirit.

Vatican II: The Radical Shift to Ecumenism

Before the 1960s, Catholics and non-Catholics had little to no interaction with each other in the religious arena. But, after the Second Vatican Council, tensions lessened due to the rise in ecumenism - the striving toward Christian unity. After Vatican II, non-Catholics had mixed feelings toward the council. Some saw it as a beacon of hope, while others thought it distracting from their own missions. This paper will discuss a brief overview of Catholic councils, the time and events leading up to Vatican II, the proceedings of the council, the initial reception by non-Catholics, and the council's lasting legacy into the 21st century.

The Second Vatican Council Ecclesiology

Fifty years after the openiing of the Council Vatican, the Catholic Church is more rooted in local realities. The Gospel is contextualized and new ways of being the Church have helped Christians to witness a faith that promotes Justice, Peace and Reconciliation. The Catholic Church is more open to the diversity of cultures and to religious pluralism. The Spirit of Vatican II is pervading the way the Catholic Church deals with the changing world we live in.

THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF VATICAN II

I have been asked to attempt something that I would not allow my graduate students to try: to treat a very large and complex question in a very short time. The difficulty, even impossibility, of the task is fairly obvious. Karl Rahner remarked that Vatican II, " in all of its sixteen constitutions, decrees, and declarations, was concerned with the Church. " 1 At the time of the Council an effort was made to give coherence to its work by dividing its concerns under two great headings: the Ecclesia ad intra and the Ecclesia ad extra, a distinction which has its usefulness, as also its limits, but in any case does not lessen one's work. The various conciliar documents were elaborated by distinct commissions, working at different rhythms, in the face of different problems and for different purposes, a lack of coordination and of systematic interest that was not entirely offset by the fact that on many of them the same experts played major roles (I think in particular of Msgr. Gérard Philips and of Fr. Yves Congar). Thus, for example, the Constitution on the Liturgy was completed before the Constitution on the Church and the latter before the Constitutions on Divine Revelation and on the Church in the Modern World. In addition, on more than a few matters, the Council deliberately chose not to settle important issues but instead to state their terms and to leave it to theologians and others to work out a more coherent reconciliation than was possible at the time. The Council also chose a rhetoric more discursive and allusive than the somewhat telegraphic language and argument characteristic of earlier councils. One might add to these difficulties others that would arise if one were to attempt to explicate the ecclesiology operative in the Council as an event. It is a mistake, I think, to expect to find a fully coherent, systematic, and comprehensive ecclesiology in the conciliar documents, and I will not attempt one here. The Council did not produce a treatise, and its four years of deliberations did not follow the rules of a doctoral seminar. On the other hand, it would be dreary simply to go through the documents, one by one, summarizing with forced brevity. Instead I will ask three questions which are part of any ecclesiology, and comment on what the Council offered by way of position or clarification.

Catholicism Opening to the World and Other Confessions: Vatican II and its Impact

Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

This volume explores how Catholicism began and continues to open its doors to the wider world and to other confessions in embracing ecumenism, thanks to the vision and legacy of the Second Vatican Council. It explores such themes as the twentieth century context preceding the council; parallels between Vatican II and previous councils; its distinctively pastoral character; the legacy of the council in relation to issues such as church-world dynamics, as well as to ethics, social justice, economic activity. Several chapters discuss the role of women in the church before, during, and since the council. Others discern inculturation in relation to Vatican II. The book also contains a wide and original range of ecumenical considerations of the council, including by and in relation to Free Church, Reformed, Orthodox, and Anglican perspectives. Finally, it considers the Council’s ongoing promise and remaining challenges with regard to ecumenical issues, including a groundbreaking essay on the future of ecumenical dialogue by Cardinal Walter Kasper.

Towards an Ecumenical Ecclesiology: the Roman Catholic Church in Dialogue

MA Thesis, University of Manitoba, 1995

Interdenominational disputes originating in the Reformation are invariably affected by the dominant ecclesiology within each denomination. An assumption of the ecumenical movement which needs a critical examination is that there can be an ecclesiology that transcends these denominational divisions, and affirms that which each Christian tradition holds regarding the nature of the church. This thesis attempts to sketch the beginnings of such an "ecumenical ecclesiology." The search for an "ecumenical ecclesiology" undertaken in this thesis is in response to the current programme study of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. This study was inaugurated by the World Council's Seventh Assembly in Canberra, Australia in 1991. This thesis attempts to evaluate the assumption that such an ecclesiology is conceivable. The first part of this thesis begins with a study of the basic assumptions of Christian theologians regarding the nature of unity, then moves to an examination of the historical roots of the divisions in the church. The first part of this thesis concludes with a consideration of the historical progress of the twentieth Century rapprochement placing particular emphasis on the inauguration of the World Council of Churches and the Second Vatican Council. In the second part of this thesis, a consideration of the modern dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and her ecumenical partners is undertaken. Considering in separate chapters the dialogues relating to baptism, eucharist and ministry, this thesis examines the ecclesiological issues related to these dialogues. It is the intent of this thesis to point towards prospects for further dialogue, and to highlight the rapprochement already achieved.