Brushing Up on Vatican II

  • Thread starter Thread starter Big_Chris
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Big_Chris

Guest
I’ve been a Catholic for five years and know almost next to nothing about Vatican II. Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Council, I think it’s time that I brush up on my learning about what the Council was all about and why the changes which occurred happened the way they did.

I, of course, am aware of the books by O’Malley and Flannery concerning the history and the documents, but are their memoirs or other books which treat this subject thoroughly without being doorstoppers?
 
Big_Chris said:
I’ve been a Catholic for five years and know almost next to nothing about Vatican II. Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Council, I think it’s time that I brush up on my learning about what the Council was all about and why the changes which occurred happened the way they did.

I, of course, am aware of the books by O’Malley and Flannery concerning the history and the documents, but are their memoirs or other books which treat this subject thoroughly without being doorstoppers?
Click to expand...
50th anniversary of the Council
Click to expand...
???

I a old !!! Never read anything about it. I lived through it…
 
Big_Chris said:
I’ve been a Catholic for five years and know almost next to nothing about Vatican II. Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Council, I think it’s time that I brush up on my learning about what the Council was all about and why the changes which occurred happened the way they did.

I, of course, am aware of the books by O’Malley and Flannery concerning the history and the documents, but are their memoirs or other books which treat this subject thoroughly without being doorstoppers?
Click to expand...
You can easily pick up a book containing the 16 documents from the council. I have a copy sat next to me here for an essay I am writing.

Vatican II was a great event that attempted to get rid of the ‘pray, pay and obey’ attitude of the church and go back to its New Testament routes.

I think the phrase John 23rd used was Aggionamento, something about opening the windows and letting in the fresh air.

Unfortunately, there are now 2 groups of Catholics that V2 resulted in coming into being that constantly winge.
The first are those who think that V2 didn’t go far enough and that we should have women priests, let non-Catholic take the eucharist, laymen perform mass and all that nonsense.
The second is the SSPX type that thinks V2 went too far and was the result of the devil and want the Church to go back to the 16th Century Tridentine Rite (which for some reason, they seem to think is the only true mass. Have you attended one? Awful things.).

Both groups are equally wrong. Although the so-called ‘liberals’ are the ones that have done more damage over the last 50 years.

Research the council.

Do not forget that it was a wonderful event and that the Holy Spirit guided the Church.
 
Big_Chris said:
I’ve been a Catholic for five years and know almost next to nothing about Vatican II. Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Council, I think it’s time that I brush up on my learning about what the Council was all about and why the changes which occurred happened the way they did.

I, of course, am aware of the books by O’Malley and Flannery concerning the history and the documents, but are their memoirs or other books which treat this subject thoroughly without being doorstoppers?
Click to expand...
I suggest reading this ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE ROMAN CURIA

Scroll down almost halfway to where it starts, “The last event of this year on which I wish to reflect here is the celebration of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council 40 years ago.”

I think you will find his reflections very interesting. Then go to the documents themselves:
vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/
 
mikelionheart said:
You can easily pick up a book containing the 16 documents from the council. I have a copy sat next to me here for an essay I am writing.

Vatican II was a great event that attempted to get rid of the ‘pray, pay and obey’ attitude of the church and go back to its New Testament routes.

I think the phrase John 23rd used was Aggionamento, something about opening the windows and letting in the fresh air.

Unfortunately, there are now 2 groups of Catholics that V2 resulted in coming into being that constantly winge.
The first are those who think that V2 didn’t go far enough and that we should have women priests, let non-Catholic take the eucharist, laymen perform mass and all that nonsense.
The second is the SSPX type that thinks V2 went too far and was the result of the devil and want the Church to go back to the 16th Century Tridentine Rite (which for some reason, they seem to think is the only true mass. Have you attended one? Awful things.).

Both groups are equally wrong. Although the so-called ‘liberals’ are the ones that have done more damage over the last 50 years.

Research the council.

Do not forget that it was a wonderful event and that the Holy Spirit guided the Church.
Click to expand...
👍 (with the exception of the Tridentine mass being awful, I have never been to one, they look very reverent).
 
One fairly slim volume is What went wrong with Vatican II, The Catholic crisis explained, Sophia Press, 1998, Ralph M McInerney.

Some other books are mentioned below in gauging the historical context of the council.

The crisis in Christ’s Church is due to the modernist errors abroad before Vatican II, whose promoters tried to take over the Council, referred to in *Christ Denied *TAN, 1982, by Fr Paul Wickens – a slim booklet).

But before Vatican II, by May of 1964, the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) had approved the sex education program put forward by 2 Swedish delegates, and the whole sordid conglomerate is exposed in Claire Chambers The SIECUS Circle, 1977. The power structure exerts pressure on local schools and the gullible public for its school sex education program. The network promotes population control, legalised abortion, homosexuality, pornography, sensitivity training and drugs. (p xv). We surely know how dissenters have spread these into the People of God.

The '60’s saw the rise of anarchy in the USA with much that was good in society decried and destroyed with nothing worthy to replace it. The new religion of the so-called Enlightenment was welcomed by selfists.

The degradation of sacred order, at the invitation of nuns, occurred from 1967 in the USA through humanistic psychologists especially Carl Rogers, and I have heard one of his lieutenants, Dr J W Coulson in person, apologising for the grave harm caused. [See *The Emperor’s New Clothes by William Kirk Kilpatrick, 1985, p 149-150]. The destruction of whole Catholic school systems and religious orders occurred.

Then followed the disgraceful public dissent against *Humanae Vitae *by Rahner and numerous dissenting theologians, Richard McBrien’s Catholicism (full of errors), the revolt of the Catholic universities and the bureaucratic/theological tail wagging the episcopal dog so to speak – coupled with lax or dissenting bishops this resulted in a grave crisis, which is worldwide with relativism, selfism and secularism.

How many Catholics know this? The great papal teaching and guidance of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have nurtured the reform of seminaries and the rejuvenation of the apostolate of the laity, with a resurgence of faith and action among the young, in the midst of the secular chaos of today.

What else would you like to know?
 
If you want to know about Vatican II, the absolute best thing you can do is actually read the 16 documents of Vatican II.

They are available on the Internet and in book form.

Internet: vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm

Book: amazon.com/Vatican-Council-II-Constitutions-Declarations/dp/0918344379/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344118440&sr=1-1&keywords=documents+of+vatican+ii
[Available at many bookstores but link given here to show you what the cover looks like]

CAUTION: There are a lot of erroneous commentaries and just plain fictional accounts out there. The documents of Vatican II actually contain what Vatican II said. Reading them is really the ONLY way to really understand Vatican II.
 
Big_Chris said:
I’ve been a Catholic for five years and know almost next to nothing about Vatican II. Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Council, I think it’s time that I brush up on my learning about what the Council was all about and why the changes which occurred happened the way they did.

I, of course, am aware of the books by O’Malley and Flannery concerning the history and the documents, but are their memoirs or other books which treat this subject thoroughly without being doorstoppers?
Click to expand...
I see by your original post that you know about the documents and want some sort of narrative.

If you want to understand what happened to religious life you can read “Sisters in Crisis” by Ann Carey. Very good, reputable and well-informed author. Good grasp of details, absolute minimal hyperbole.
 
One of the “catch phrases” about vatican II you may want to watch out for are articles or books that present “the spirtit of vatican II”. When they say “in the spirit of” what they are saying is their own personal opinion which has it’s own agenda, instead of the actual sayings of the councel IMHO.
 
mdcpensive1 said:
One of the “catch phrases” about vatican II you may want to watch out for are articles or books that present “the spirtit of vatican II”. When they say “in the spirit of” what they are saying is their own personal opinion which has it’s own agenda, instead of the actual sayings of the councel IMHO.
Click to expand...
Yes, this is huge. People say this phrase too, and when you hear it, beware. Definite danger sign. Big one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top