Documents of Vatican II

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rfournier103

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This is NOT a debate about whether or not The Second Vatican Council was a good idea or not.

How many people here have read the “Documents of Vatican II”? Do you own a copy? What did/do you think?

I just bought a hardcover copy about one month ago, and found it fascinating. It’s the edition edited by Walter M. Abbott, S.J., “with commentaries and notes by Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Authorities”.

I have a tremendous appreciation for history and law, so I found this collection of documents quite compelling. The commentaries we also quite compelling…

I honestly think that ANY Christian would be doing themselves a favor by at least skimming this book. Besides my Bible, this is the Christian book I would be most hard-pressed to part with.

To repeat my initial statement… how many people here have read the “Documents of Vatican II”? Do you own a copy? What did/do you think?
 
While I’ve read the documents of Vatican II, I’ve never read “The Documents of Vatican II.”
 
Ahh… To clarify: The documents themselves. I thought the book was magnificent, but the documents themselves are what I’d like to know about. Although if anyone has also read the book I am talking about, the commentaries are also up for discussion.
 
As you can see from my signature, I’ve been reading them throughout the Year of Faith. Just an article or a few each day is all it takes. 🙂

I’ve read them before, though, back in school. Some of them (like Dei Verbum), I’ve probably read a dozen times at least. I have both the Abbot translation (which is better) and the Flannery translation (which is more popular). 🙂 I also have accumulated a fair number of booklets of some of the individual documents on their own.

I would definitely encourage anyone to read through the documents themselves. There is so much editorializing about them that we do well to see for ourselves what the documents actually say.
 
Joe_5859 said:
As you can see from my signature, I’ve been reading them throughout the Year of Faith. Just an article or a few each day is all it takes. 🙂

I’ve read them before, though, back in school. Some of them (like Dei Verbum), I’ve probably read a dozen times at least. I have both the Abbot translation (which is better) and the Flannery translation (which is more popular). 🙂 I also have accumulated a fair number of booklets of some of the individual documents on their own.

I would definitely encourage anyone to read through the documents themselves. There is so much editorializing about them that we do well to see for ourselves what the documents actually say.
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I feel like it’s almost an un-tapped resource!!! So much about our Church! Someone said (I can’t remember who) that it’s almost like a “Magna Carta” of sorts of the Catholic Church!

If you’re a Christian and you own only one book, it should be the Holy Bible. If you own only TWO books, “the documents” should be the other, I think.

It lays out almost everything about the Church, in a way that’s not TOO hard to grasp… I am surprised that the Church never issued anything like this before. I love it.
 
rfournier103 said:
I feel like it’s almost an un-tapped resource!!! So much about our Church! Someone said (I can’t remember who) that it’s almost like a “Magna Carta” of sorts of the Catholic Church!

If you’re a Christian and you own only one book, it should be the Holy Bible. If you own only TWO books, “the documents” should be the other, I think.

It lays out almost everything about the Church, in a way that’s not TOO hard to grasp… I am surprised that the Church never issued anything like this before. I love it.
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Indeed. I seem to recall hearing that if you put all the documents of the previous 20 ecumencial councils in one book, and the documents of Vatican II in another book, the documents of Vatican II would be the thicker volume. 🙂 I guess the Church is getting more wordy as She ages. 😛 I find it quite helpful, though.

A lot of people aren’t directly familiar with the documents of Vatican II, but they do serve as the battery that powers a lot of the resources we have available at present (the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Code of Canon Law, etc.). So many of the resources we Catholics have available to us at present (including the many great Catholic apostolates like Catholic Answers) would not exist as they do without the documents of Vatican II as the catalyst.
 
My goal is to finish them all before the end of the Year of Faith.
And as seminarian, i feel that it is essential, that i have these documents read and understood.

I have read all the four major ones:
Lumen Gentium, by far my most favorite… i like the dogmatics.
Gaudium et Spes was also fantastic,and just finished it the other day, very good for everyone to read: dignity of man, mans vocation in the world, the church, marriage, peace… all relevant to all people.
Dei Verbum is a must read for everyone. Very short, yet very deep. Focusing on Holy Scripture.
Sacrosanctum Concillium is nice, moreover liturgical guidelines.
Presbyterorum Ordinis is mostly for priests, and another of my favorites.
Optatam Totius is also a priestly document, and also among my favorites… key document to priestly formation, studies, philosophy, Holy Scripture…
I have also read Gravissimum Educationis, Nostra Aetate, Dignitatis Humanae, and Perfectae Caritatis.

I have, out of the 16 documents, 6 more to go. I think ill manage in time.

I do recommend them to everyone, yet understand, since they are quite long documents, not everyone may have that time to read them. That is also one of the reasons why i feel obligated to read them, so that later i can pass this jewel on to others.
 
I own and have read all the major council documents.

The documents of Vatican II should eventually be read by all serious Catholics.
Being the most recent ecumenical council, Vatican II is the most authoritative statement on where we are as a Church at this segment in history and how we should proceed.

It’s doctrinal value is very high, as it includes so much explanation of the truths of the faith.
 
rfournier103 said:
If you’re a Christian and you own only one book, it should be the Holy Bible. If you own only TWO books, “the documents” should be the other, I think.
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I would rate the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the #2 book, but V2 would be the next in line.
 
whitenight21 said:
My goal is to finish them all before the end of the Year of Faith.
And as seminarian, i feel that it is essential, that i have these documents read and understood.

I have read all the four major ones:
Lumen Gentium, by far my most favorite… i like the dogmatics.
Gaudium et Spes was also fantastic,and just finished it the other day, very good for everyone to read: dignity of man, mans vocation in the world, the church, marriage, peace… all relevant to all people.
Dei Verbum is a must read for everyone. Very short, yet very deep. Focusing on Holy Scripture.
Sacrosanctum Concillium is nice, moreover liturgical guidelines.
Presbyterorum Ordinis is mostly for priests, and another of my favorites.
Optatam Totius is also a priestly document, and also among my favorites… key document to priestly formation, studies, philosophy, Holy Scripture…
I have also read Gravissimum Educationis, Nostra Aetate, Dignitatis Humanae, and Perfectae Caritatis.

I have, out of the 16 documents, 6 more to go. I think ill manage in time.

I do recommend them to everyone, yet understand, since they are quite long documents, not everyone may have that time to read them. That is also one of the reasons why i feel obligated to read them, so that later i can pass this jewel on to others.
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I also have 10 documents down and 6 to go in my “Read through the documents of Vatican II in a year”. So I think you’re on pace to finish them. Just reading one to one and a half pages a day is enough to finish them all in one year.
 
I am working on them now, in order of their composition/promulgation. As I finish each one, I write a brief paper on it. Began with John XXIII’s Opening Address, and working through Sacrosanctum Concilium now. Amazing how all the heresy after the Council, while claiming to be the “spirit of Vatican II”, had nothing to do with it. One material heretic (Gary Wills) claims that Vatican II transferred sovereignty of the Church from the Pope to the laity; apparently he hasn’t read Lumen Gentium, which says
In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power.
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The documents are of varying quality; Nostra Aetate and Gaudiam et Spes seem at times impossibly naive and overly optimistic (putting it mildly) about the nature of man (awaiting a unified global government? Trying to outlaw war? seriously?); the former’s treatment of non-Christian religions is rather weak, as Benedict XVI noted. And parts of the Council lend themselves to error without proper catechesis - particularly Dignitatis Humanae.

Reading the documents of Vatican II is something I highly, highly recommend - it helps to quash the heretics who want to destroy the Church in nomine spiritus Vaticanae, but I would also recommend reading earlier Magisterial pronouncements, particularly Trent, Vatican I, and the major papal encyclicals. The difference in tone and style notwithstanding, it forces us to come to grips that no doctrine was changed at the Council and what the Church believed prior to 1962 is precisely what She believes now.
 
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