Roman Catholic Theology & Vatican II Faith, Hope and Charity Come Before the Law.
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Transcript of Roman Catholic Theology & Vatican II Faith, Hope and Charity Come Before the Law.
Roman Catholic Theology& Vatican II
Faith, Hope and Charity
Come Before the Law
Second Vatican Council (1962-65)
A council of reform and renewal Key topics
Liturgy Church
Aim was revitalization Faith, especially a renewed understanding of the
centrality of Christ Worship (thus, Hope), and Renewal of the Christian lifestyle to impact the
modern world (i.e., Charity)
Ecclesiology
Emphasizes Church as the People of God De-emphasizes institution Mary as mother of the faithful, first disciple,
model of faithdistinctly associated with the church (e.g., last section of Lumen Gentium)
Validates ministry of the laity, not to serve the church, but to serve God and God's creatures in caring for the world (Gaudium et Spes)
Calls for Christians to work for justice and peace on the earth
Liturgy
Celebration of the entire people Priest as president of assembly Priest facing the people Encouragement of ministries of the laity, e.G.,
Lectors Leaders of the prayers of the people Extraordinary ministers of the eucharist
Re-establishment of communion under both species, to show that eucharist is a real (although attenuated) meal
Christo-centric
Christ as focus of Christian liturgy & devotions
Importance of homilies Not sermons Reflect on the scriptural readings, especially
the gospels, to Edify the faithful Further their theological understanding, and Help them live out the Christian life
Church v. World
Positions the church in the world (Gaudium et Spes) Balances previous other-worldly emphasis in RC
teaching Emphasis on the way Christians should live in this
world I.e., Witness to the three primary evangelical virtues
Faith Hope, & Charity
Revives the call to evangelize the world
Scripture
Recognizes need for an intellectual approach to the biblical text
Recognizes advances of historical-critical scholarship in the 19th-20th centuries (dei verbum)
Ecumenism & Inter-Religious Dialogue Discusses the context of RCC among other
Christian traditions Christianity among other world religions Remembers the link of Christianity with
Judaism Rejects the anti-Judaism of former RCC
teachings and traditions Recognizes religious freedom as basic
human right
Church Polity
restores the principle of subsidiarity, i.e., that tasks should be handled on the smallest scale and at the lowest level of authority possible to this end
the council recovers the authority and role of bishops in their own sees
validates and highlights the role of national synods of bishops cf. drive to de-centralization with liturgical
change of priest facing the congregation during Mass
Faith, Hope and CharityCome Before the Law The canons must be understood in light of the
three central Christian virtues which were the governing aims of the Council Faith Hope, & Charity
Discussion
Are any of these features of the Council a surprise to you?
Which of these do you think are the most important for church life?
What significance do these principles have for understanding the canons?
What differences would there be in your view of "canon law" if these things are taken into account?