The Inside Story of Vatican II by Rev. Fr. Ralph Wiltgen S.V.D

Author:Rev. Fr. Ralph Wiltgen, S.V.D. [Wiltgen, Rev. Fr. Ralph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781618906403
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 2014-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE CHURCH

Chapter 7 of the schema on the Church, entitled “The Eschatological Nature of the Pilgrim Church and Its Union with the Church in Heaven,” was the first item to come up for discussion at the third session. This chapter had been introduced in the schema at the wish of Pope John XXIII. The “eschatological” character of a Christian’s life was described as “a continuity of life which begins on earth and reaches perfection in heaven.” The underlying doctrine is that the Church on earth and in heaven constitutes a single People of God and a single Mystical Body of Christ.

Cardinal Urbani, of Venice, called the structure of the chapter satisfactory, adding that it corresponded to the ideas expressed at the second session by Cardinal Frings on behalf of the bishops of Germany and Scandinavia.

The Latin Rite Patriarch of Jerusalem, Alberto Gori, objected strongly to the chapter, saying that the text should not be silent “on the existence of hell, on the eternity of hell,” and on the possibility of “personal damnation.” These were truths that had been explicitly revealed, he said, and should today be given their proper emphasis. So many, in their sermons, he said, seemed to shrink from expressing these doctrines openly and clearly.

Maronite Archbishop Ignace Ziadé, of Beirut, Lebanon, said that far too little prominence had been given to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. “The scope of my intervention is simple,” he said. “How is it possible to speak of our eschatological calling without any reference to the Holy Spirit?” The Orientals, he declared, were not able to recognize their traditional doctrine on the Holy Spirit in “such a deficient profession of faith.”

The eighth and final chapter was taken up on the following day. This was the text on the Blessed Virgin Mary, now included as a chapter in the schema on the Church instead of being treated as a separate schema. The chapter was a compromise text produced by two periti—Monsignor Philips and Father Balić—of widely differing views on the matter. Monsignor Philips insisted on leaving out the titles “Mother of the Church” and “Mediatrix,” but the Theological Commission decided to include “Mediatrix,” convinced that if neither of the two were in the text, it would not get the desired unanimous approval from the Council Fathers.

Thirty-three Council Fathers took the floor to discuss this chapter. Cardinal Ruffini, of Palermo, said that the schema “almost veiled” the cooperation of Mary in the work of redemption, which had been willed by God. And since the text also contained the unqualified statement that “Mediatrix” was a title given to the Blessed Virgin, it was necessary to explain clearly what that title meant, so that “non-Catholics will come to realize that the use of this title implies no lessening of the dignity of Christ, who is the one absolutely necessary Mediator.”

Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, of Warsaw, Poland, speaking on behalf of seventy Polish bishops, drew attention to Pope Paul’s encyclical, Ecclesiam suam, published some six weeks earlier.

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