1. VATICAN II
POPE JOHN XXIII

2. 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

3. 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” 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

4. 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.

5. 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.”

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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