This being the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, there is a lot of interest in the Council and exactly what happened there.
There has been lively debate about what was the “spirit” of the council. Did the reforms brought about by Vatican II lead to chaos? Was that chaos a manifestation of the presence of the Spirit among us?
Our Diocesan Archives houses a treasure trove of primary source material from the Council. Under the watchful eye of Joe Coen, diocesan archivist, documents from the daily proceedings of the Council are preserved for the study of students and scholars.
Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart, the Bishop of Brooklyn at the time, was present at all the sessions, which spanned three years. He was accompanied by his Auxiliary Bishops John J. Boardman, Charles R. Mulrooney and Joseph P. Denning.
Brooklyn also sent three pertiti to the Council. These were experts in their fields who were invited by the Vatican to serve as special advisors to the bishops. Our experts were Msgr. John Steinmueller, a Scripture scholar; Msgr. Andrew Landi, who was the national director of Catholic Relief Services; and Msgr. William F. Kelly, who headed up the diocesan Office of Social Action.
Diocesan priests, such as Msgrs. James King, Austin Bennett, Edward Fus, and John J. Snyder, also travelled at different times with our bishops to serve as their secretaries.
Bishop Boardman had the foresight to send the outlines prepared for all the bishops to the Diocesan Archives. And they remain there today serving as primary sources to the most significant religious event of the 20th century. The cover page of each volume bears the flourishing signature of John J. Boardman, allowing no doubt as to their origin.
In contrast to the bishop’s penmanship, the tight script of Msgr. Steinmueller adorns the margins of another set of notes. The cryptic citations, written in English and Latin, give a glimpse into what the cleric thought to be significant during the Council’s proceedings. The monsignor also meticulously jotted down a running tally of the votes on documents as they were taking place.
Msgr. Steinmueller’s folder also contains press clippings from The Tablet, Il Crociato (the Brooklyn Italian newspaper) and The National Catholic Register.
Another interesting folder is the collection of news releases from the Divine Word News Services from 1963. A quick perusal discovers the name of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, still in good standing with the Church, who was commenting on the role of the papacy. There’s also a running commentary on the debate over whether to resurrect the married diaconate in the universal Church.
Most people will never get a chance to spend time in the diocesan archives, but if you want to receive a glimpse into some of this fascinating Church history, you’ll have a chance when NET-TV presents its original 10-part series “Vatican II: Inside the Council.”
The series, the first five of which will be weekly, will be shown on Thursday evenings, beginning Feb. 21. Topics will breakdown according to the themes of the official documents of the Council, which have guided the Church ever since.
