Second Vatican Council: Aggiornamento

• The history of the Church is built upon the Word of God.
• The history of the Church is perpetuated by how it is built by its members.
• The Church faces the challenges of its faith with the power of the Holy Spirit.
• The power of the Holy Spirit sends people (saints, holy men and women, popes, etc.) as agents to respond to the challenges.
• The Church constantly reflects its needs to be addressed to renew itself.
• Pressing concerns need to be addressed.
• Whenever pressing concerns are evident and rampant, the Church organizes a council.
• The Second Vatican Council, also know as Vatican II, is one of the most significant councils.

Aggiornamento

• Many people felt disconnected from the Church and its role in their lives and society.
• Pope John XXIII called for an Aggiornamento to re-examine the Word of God and the Church’s practices.
• Bishop Butler said that any institution that lives and means to play an active, not to say aggressive, part in the mainstream of human history must make minor adaptations from time to time to its ever-changing environment.
• It was important for the Church to make its teachings and message of faith more relevant to the people of that time to better serve them.
• The Pope had high hopes the Council would strengthen the unity among Christians.
• There were different hopes and expectations for the Council.
• Preparations took place between the Pope’s announcement in 1959 and the start of the Council on October 11, 1962.

What did the Church do?

• The Second Vatican Council was a historic event
• The Church conducted a self-examination for the first time in its 2000-year history.
• An internal study involved a deeper exploration of the Church’s roots in Scripture and its early apostolic, sub-apostolic, and patristic traditions.
• Pope John XXIII believed the Holy Spirit called him to convene the Council.
• He believed that the Holy Spirit helped with understanding of the Fathers of the Council.
• The final report of the Synod of Bishops in 1985 stated, “Unanimously, we have celebrated the Second Vatican Council as a grace of God and a gift of the Holy Spirit.”
• In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, the Holy Father remarked that the Council was "the seminary of the Holy Spirit."
• Preaching the Gospel and teaching the Faith should be obvious but is often ignored or overlooked.
• In his opening remarks at the Council, Pope John XXIII declared, "The greatest concern of the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously."