My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
In a “chat” with the priests and clergy of Rome following his abdication of the ministry of St. Peter, our Emeritus Pope, Benedict XVI, spoke about the Church’s understanding of the Second Vatican Council. He gave this address without a prepared text or written notes. This only proves the commonly held understanding that Pope Benedict XVI’s thoughts are deeply held and that he outlined every topic in his mind before he spoke. The address was truly from the heart.
Perhaps the greatest point Benedict made was, “We know that this Council of the media was accessible to everyone. Therefore, this was the dominant one, the more effective one, and it created so many disasters, so many problems, so much suffering.”
Early in his talk, he made the point that the media reported on the Council without truly understanding what was being said. The documents were precise, but not easily understandable to an untrained theological mind.
How true Benedict’s words were that the media portraying the Council was able to influence the minds of so many! The challenge facing the Church today is truly a task of understanding how to use the media. The first of the Council Documents was Inter Mirifica “Among the Wonderful” – the “Decree on the Media of Social Communication.” Although this document outlined a totally new approach to the understanding of the media, today it is hardly completely implemented. This I believe is a task that our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, has begun to address.
In his marvelous talk, at one point Benedict says, “Some claim that the Council never spoke of God.” This was not true. Just see the Decree on Devine Revelation which I wish to write about today. The Constitution on Divine Revelation, or “Dei Verbum,” created a new understanding of the relationship between Scripture and tradition. As we know, the Church is guided by the Word of God. In distinction to our separated Protestant brethren, we are not guided solely by Sacred Scripture. The Council stated, “Both sacred tradition and sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence.” Both guide our understanding of faith. Both the Word of God and the lived Word of God in the tradition of the Church handed down from its beginning, and interpreted by the authority of the Church, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This gives us the correct balance to interpreting the ways in which the Church must act.
The great progress in Scripture scholarship prior to the Council and in the years following presented a challenge to the Church. Would the Church accept the new critical methods of analyzing the Scripture, or would it simply stay with literal understanding? The Church was able to find the correct balance because of its reliance on tradition. We truly believe the Word of God to be revealed. We are not free to interpret it away. Because of our tradition and faith, however, we are able to understand this more deeply to find its true message for us. This is one of the great contributions the Council.
Some of the related topics refer to the concept of collegiality and a better understanding of the ecclessiology or the nature of the Church. The First Vatican Council defined the role of the Roman Pontiff and the limits of his infallibility when it comes to defining faith and morals. The Second Vatican Council was able to show how the Roman Pontiff acts in concert with his brother bishops, although he alone is the Successor of Peter. The other bishops are successors of all of the Apostles. The Pontiff holds the primacy. However, he is not alone in exercising the teaching ministry of the Church. This too has given rise to the tradition to the Church of Synods, and other means of sharing the teaching authority of the Church.
As we now have a new Roman Pontiff, Francis, we recognize that it is the collective wisdom and guidance by the Holy Spirit to the College of Cardinals that elects a successor to Peter, who holds the primary responsibility in the Church for the interpretation of the Word of God and the tradition of the Church. Our cardinals have put out into the deep in this election process. They have chosen well and we join together in prayer for our new Pope Francis, that the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be with him.