MAJOR ECCLESIAL CHANGES:
The major ecclesial changes to church doctrines during the Second Vatican Council were undertaken through the two contrasting processes of hermeneutics consisting of retrieving documents from the past known as ressourcement and analysing and scrutinising these documents to discern what elements were relevant to the context of the Church at the time, known as aggiornamiento. The aim of this process was to reinstate undervalued traditions of the past and reinterpret them for the present needs of its audience (O’Collins, 2012).
The Church as Mystery or Sacrament:
In the Dogmatic constitution of the Church (Lumen gentium), it is defined as “a mystery, or a sacrament” (p. 164). This ad intra change to the definitional meaning of what constitutes the Church has transformed it from its preconciliar representation as something that is bound up in its institutional connotations that is defined by a very top down structure, into something that aims to capture the highly abstract concept of the Grace and presence of the triune God and render it more egalitarian and representative in nature. More simply, it takes the invisible concept of God and transforms it into the tangible symbol of the Church in order to make it more digestible and therefore more meaningful for its audience (McBrien, 2008).
Lumen gentium article 1 professes that the “Church is, in Christ, as ‘a sacrament-a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of the unity or the entire human race’”.
It is this sacramental essence of the reinvigorated Church that calls all people, to “follow the path of penance and renewal” (no 8.) towards holiness. This Sacramental definition embodies the pastoral aspect of the Church and urges the Church to ensure the doctrines are living and breathing realities within the life of the Church, rather than just being words that lay dormant on the page.
The Church as People of God:
This redefining of the people’s role in the Church transforms the people from merely belonging to the Church to actually being the Church. The Church exists essentially to allow the people to fulfil their “mission and ministries” (McBrien, 2008, p. 166). Past conceptions of the laity had relegated them to simply enacting orders directed to them by the Church hierarchy and controlled the adherents spiritual journey in a very structured and homogenised manner. However, the new conception of the Church as ‘People of God’ allowed the laity to share equally in the mission of the Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist and allowed for the people to possess much greater control over their own spiritual nourishment (McBrien, 2008, p. 168).The greatest impact of this new conception of the ‘People of God’ could be seen in the changes to the liturgy, which will be focused on in greater detail further on in this website.
The Church as Servant:
The Church as servant represented a significant ad extra shift in the way it perceived itself internally, but more importantly how it interacted with the external world around it. This new direction compelled the Church to be true advocates for the poor and oppressed of the world and priortised the human rights of the individual (McBrien, 2008). This redefined the mission of the Church, ensuring that its central motivation was to enact the work of Christ “to serve and not to be served” (Mcbrien, 2008, p. 169-170).
This new direction raised concerns about the level of reliance between the state and the Church. The pastoral constitution maintains that there is distinct separation between the two and that the Church is concerned with the state only to the extent that it aims to protect the welfare of individuals and will not be “bound to no particular form of human culture, nor to any political, economic, or social system” (McBrien, 2008, p. 170).
This new direction of protecting the people is outlined in Article 76 of Gaudium et spes “For [the Church] is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person” (McBrien, 2008, p. 171).
The emphasis on the servile nature of the Church has meant that the Church is often embroiled in many contemporary issues that focus on protecting human rights, promoting justice and ensuring that peace reigns supreme on this earth (McBrien, 2008). The Church as servant can no longer turn away from secular issues and has assumed a much greater mentality of responsibility.
The Church as Communion:
Once again, the idea of the Church as communion emphasis the newly invigorated state of the Church as one that embraces collegiality as opposed to the preconciliar era that endorsed the highly rigid structure of the Church with the all-powerful pope at the top and the bishops in submission. This new egalitarian conception of leadership fulfils the innovative direction towards ecumenism, which aims to create a state of unity within the Church (McBrien, 2008, p. 173).
This core bond is expressed in Lumen gentium as “All the faithful scattered throughout the world are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit” (McBrien, 2008, p. 173).
The ecumenical movement has resulted in continual dialogue between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations in the common quest for regeneration and improvement (McBrien, 2008).
As a result of the new openness towards other Christian churches, the Catholic Church made a significant, yet contentious change to the doctrine of faith that substitutes the verb ‘is’ to ‘subsists in’ “The Church, ‘constituted and organised as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church” (McBrien, 2008, p. 177). This softening of the language represents attempts by the Church to appear more open to identifying the ecclesial elements that unify them with other Christians rather than focusing on what sets them apart.
The Church as eschatological community:
The Church changed its ultimate conception of itself from assuming the triumphal role of ‘being’ the kingdom to being a vehicle that propels a person ‘towards’ the kingdom of God and exposes them to salvation. This new conception holds the Church more accountable for its actions and has resulted in a greater attitude of self-reflection, as those inside and outside feel more able to criticise the Church due to a softening of its previously monolithic and impervious presence (McBrien, 2008).
The Church as Mystery or Sacrament:
In the Dogmatic constitution of the Church (Lumen gentium), it is defined as “a mystery, or a sacrament” (p. 164). This ad intra change to the definitional meaning of what constitutes the Church has transformed it from its preconciliar representation as something that is bound up in its institutional connotations that is defined by a very top down structure, into something that aims to capture the highly abstract concept of the Grace and presence of the triune God and render it more egalitarian and representative in nature. More simply, it takes the invisible concept of God and transforms it into the tangible symbol of the Church in order to make it more digestible and therefore more meaningful for its audience (McBrien, 2008).
Lumen gentium article 1 professes that the “Church is, in Christ, as ‘a sacrament-a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of the unity or the entire human race’”.
It is this sacramental essence of the reinvigorated Church that calls all people, to “follow the path of penance and renewal” (no 8.) towards holiness. This Sacramental definition embodies the pastoral aspect of the Church and urges the Church to ensure the doctrines are living and breathing realities within the life of the Church, rather than just being words that lay dormant on the page.
The Church as People of God:
This redefining of the people’s role in the Church transforms the people from merely belonging to the Church to actually being the Church. The Church exists essentially to allow the people to fulfil their “mission and ministries” (McBrien, 2008, p. 166). Past conceptions of the laity had relegated them to simply enacting orders directed to them by the Church hierarchy and controlled the adherents spiritual journey in a very structured and homogenised manner. However, the new conception of the Church as ‘People of God’ allowed the laity to share equally in the mission of the Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist and allowed for the people to possess much greater control over their own spiritual nourishment (McBrien, 2008, p. 168).The greatest impact of this new conception of the ‘People of God’ could be seen in the changes to the liturgy, which will be focused on in greater detail further on in this website.
The Church as Servant:
The Church as servant represented a significant ad extra shift in the way it perceived itself internally, but more importantly how it interacted with the external world around it. This new direction compelled the Church to be true advocates for the poor and oppressed of the world and priortised the human rights of the individual (McBrien, 2008). This redefined the mission of the Church, ensuring that its central motivation was to enact the work of Christ “to serve and not to be served” (Mcbrien, 2008, p. 169-170).
This new direction raised concerns about the level of reliance between the state and the Church. The pastoral constitution maintains that there is distinct separation between the two and that the Church is concerned with the state only to the extent that it aims to protect the welfare of individuals and will not be “bound to no particular form of human culture, nor to any political, economic, or social system” (McBrien, 2008, p. 170).
This new direction of protecting the people is outlined in Article 76 of Gaudium et spes “For [the Church] is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person” (McBrien, 2008, p. 171).
The emphasis on the servile nature of the Church has meant that the Church is often embroiled in many contemporary issues that focus on protecting human rights, promoting justice and ensuring that peace reigns supreme on this earth (McBrien, 2008). The Church as servant can no longer turn away from secular issues and has assumed a much greater mentality of responsibility.
The Church as Communion:
Once again, the idea of the Church as communion emphasis the newly invigorated state of the Church as one that embraces collegiality as opposed to the preconciliar era that endorsed the highly rigid structure of the Church with the all-powerful pope at the top and the bishops in submission. This new egalitarian conception of leadership fulfils the innovative direction towards ecumenism, which aims to create a state of unity within the Church (McBrien, 2008, p. 173).
This core bond is expressed in Lumen gentium as “All the faithful scattered throughout the world are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit” (McBrien, 2008, p. 173).
The ecumenical movement has resulted in continual dialogue between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations in the common quest for regeneration and improvement (McBrien, 2008).
As a result of the new openness towards other Christian churches, the Catholic Church made a significant, yet contentious change to the doctrine of faith that substitutes the verb ‘is’ to ‘subsists in’ “The Church, ‘constituted and organised as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church” (McBrien, 2008, p. 177). This softening of the language represents attempts by the Church to appear more open to identifying the ecclesial elements that unify them with other Christians rather than focusing on what sets them apart.
The Church as eschatological community:
The Church changed its ultimate conception of itself from assuming the triumphal role of ‘being’ the kingdom to being a vehicle that propels a person ‘towards’ the kingdom of God and exposes them to salvation. This new conception holds the Church more accountable for its actions and has resulted in a greater attitude of self-reflection, as those inside and outside feel more able to criticise the Church due to a softening of its previously monolithic and impervious presence (McBrien, 2008).