VATICAN II POPE JOHN XXIII

1. A description of the religious landscape that existed in the Catholic Church at the time Vatican II was convened. Seminaries & Convents were full Churches were well attended Catholic education and health care was provided by Priests, Brothers and Nuns Strong sense of Catholic culture & identity Lots of Church groups, e.g. Legion of Mary & other Sodalities CYO St Vincent de Paul Mass said in Latin (Tridentine => Council of Trent) No laity involvement in Mass (except altar boys) Fasting from midnight before Holy Communion Emphasis on sin and hell

2. A short biography of Pope John XXIII Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in 1881 in Bergamo, Italy Entered seminary at age 12; ordained 1904 Did a daily “Decalogue” - 10 actions each day His patron was Saint Charles Borromeo Served in the medical corps & as chaplain during WW 1 Served as priest & bishop in Bulgaria, Turkey and France Made Cardinal in 1953 Made pope 1958 – “caretaker Pope” Popular and friendly with great vision; attended theatre, hospitals, nursing homes and prisons January 25, 1959 announced intention to convene an ecumenical council – the first since 1870 Died June 3rd 1963 before Vatican II was concluded Remembered as taking the Church into a new era

3. Reasons that convinced Pope John XXIII to convene the Council To say Mass in the vernacular (local language) To involve the laity (us) in the liturgies To initiate dialogue with other religious traditions – Ecumenism To revisit the way God reveals himself to us – Revelation To update Church teaching about marriage, family life, cultural, social and economic life, politics, war and peace To encourage priests and nuns with their vocations To foster Christian Education To accommodate Religious freedom – i.e. allow all religious groups to practise their faith To better equip Catholics to live and worship in a rapidly changing world.

4. A comment on the power of the Curia. The Curia was staffed by aging Italians who exercised vast influence and control on the Popes (and hence the Church). They looked on efforts to change it with great hostility John (and the Council) was being thwarted by the Curia – and the success of the Council was thus under threat His private secretary began making phone calls subtly letting the Curia know that John wanted nothing to do with them. The bishops then realised that John really did want wholesale reform – and that he would not bow to the Curia The Council members began to realize their own power and began to form into a strong, united bloc when they saw that the world was watching; “We heard men dare to say things we’d privately been thinking for a long time.”

5. The length of the Council The Council was announced by John XXIII on January 25th, 1959 and commenced on October 11, 1962 Pope John died on June 3, 1963 The Council ended on November 21, 1965 under Pope Paul VI

6. A list – and details – of the major changes Vatican II brought to the Catholic Church The Mass was now said in the local language, i.e. the vernacular The form of the Mass and the Sacraments was simplified so as to make them more meaningful There was much more participation by the laity (us) in the Mass Ecumenism was established between other Christian religions Bishops were to exercise collegiality, i.e. they were to work together in their teaching and caring ministries Religious freedom was accepted, i.e. all religious groups were allowed to practise their faith Non-Christian religions (e.g. Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism) were to be respected

7. A discussion of the state of the Catholic Church in the world today The numbers of people in the developed world practising their faith has dwindled dramatically Three generations of Catholics have been lost – we have become the “unchurched” In the developed world, religion is seen as irrelevant In underdeveloped Christian countries such as the Philippines, Africa, South America and Vietnam, religion is seen as an important part of life: church attendances are strong and vocations to the religious life are many