Question on history

[rwoehmke]

I may be wrong, but I seem to recollect that about the time that Vatican II was called there were people who expressed the opinion that unless something was done, the Church which seemed at a high point was headed for disaster. There must have been many vowed religious and priests just waiting in the wings to “jump ship”. It was those pre-Vatican II seminarians cum priests who left in droves during the 60’s along with a goodly number of religious. I had heard that without Vatican II that things would have been much worse. Of course there were some more traditionally oriented lay people who left afterward because of the changes and the Mass of Paul VI. Maybe I am just getting old and my mind is muddled, but I don’t really think so. Are any of my recollections anywhere near accurate?

 

[Third_Day]

I was 12 when Vatican II was called. From my recollection and from what I have read everyone was suprised that a Council was called. I can’t recall anyone worried that the Church was about to implode. Of course I wasn’t in Europe or in the halls of the Vatican and so I don’t know for sure what the feeling there was.
One of the reasons a lot of priests left after Vatican II was explained to me by a priest that was there. In the 60’s it was thought that Pope Paul VI was going to allow priests to be married. This was told to the seminarians and they were even allowed to date while in the seminary. When it became clear that the teaching was not going to change thousands of seminarians and young priests left because they felt betrayed. They were no longer committed to a life of celibacy.
I do believe that the Council was necessary. The Church needed to reach out to those closest to us, the Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists. Calling them separated brothers instead of heretics was the first step in hopes of a returning them to the One Church. I think having the Mass in the vernacular was a good thing but the drastic changes, not intended by the Council, have not produced the fruits intended.