What Happened at Vatican II by John W. O'Malley S. J

Author:John W. O'Malley S. J. [O'Malley S. J., John W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9780674031692
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2010-08-31T23:00:00+00:00

Ecumenism, Adjournment, and a Surprise Announcement

Time was running out. Final (but not the formal, solemn) votes had been taken on the liturgy schema, which had been overwhelmingly approved, and on the communications schema, approved but with a relatively large number of negative votes on what many considered a lackluster and inadequate document. On November 18 the unprecedented and long-awaited schema On Ecumenism arrived in the hall. The historic importance of the day was widely recognized. Who would have thought even five years earlier that a council of the Roman Catholic Church would address such an issue and, moreover, do so with a fundamentally positive attitude? True, in 1949 the Holy Office had issued an instruction entitled Ecclesia Catholica that mitigated the strictures of Mortalium Animos and recognized the action of the Holy Spirit in the Ecumenical Movement. In some circles it resulted in greater Catholic interest and engagement, yet before John XXIII’s announcement of the council ten years later, nobody could have foreseen how ecumenism would jump to such a central role in the Catholic agenda.69

Discussion on the schema consumed the remaining working sessions of this period. The subject, originally a chapter in the first schema on the church drawn up by the Doctrinal Commission, was now firmly in the hands of the Secretariat for Christian Unity. The text consisted of five chapters: (1) “Catholic Principles of Ecumenism”; (2) “The Practice of Ecumenism”; (3) “Christians Separated from the Catholic Church”; (4) “Catholic Attitude toward Non-Christians, Especially the Jews”; and (5) “On Religious Liberty.”70 Chapters four and five already had a troubled history in the council. In what schema should they appear, if they were to appear at all? Arab opposition to a positive statement on the Jews weighed heavily on the council, and many prelates opposed the principle of religious liberty for the same reasons the popes of the nineteenth century had opposed it.

After a short presentation of the subject by Cardinal Cicognani, Bishop Joseph Martin of Rouen introduced the first three chapters with obviously heartfelt emotion that, according to Congar, the bishops found moving. He received a long applause at the end.71 These chapters underwent considerable rewriting before their final approval the next year in Unitatis Redintegratio, but since their style and substance remained the same, it is more economical here to highlight the final version. That document recalled that the restoration of unity among Christians was one of the fundamental concerns of the council, and long sections of the text held up that ideal for admiration. The Holy Spirit dwelling in believers is moving them to work for this great goal by bestowing gifts that urge them toward a confession of one faith, a common celebration of divine worship, and fraternal harmony in the family of God.

To that end, the document laid down some principles to guide Catholics in this endeavor. To begin with, Catholics should remember that “change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the heart of the whole ecumenical movement.

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