(c) Explain the importance of the Second Vatican Council. Flashcards
• The Second Vatican Council is the most recent and the largest ever ecumenical
council of the Church which makes it is the most authoritative presentation of
Church teaching for today’s Catholics.
• The Council was a response to the huge changes in society, technology and
politics in the world following World War II.
• It aimed to present the Church as a living and relevant institution in the modern
world and spoke to the needs of people living at the end of the 20th and beginning
of the 21st century.
• It led to an increase in the participation of lay people in the celebration of the
Catholic Mass, with permission being given for the Mass to be celebrated in
people’s own language and not just in Latin.
• In Gaudium et Spes (one of the four main documents of the Council), the Council
engaged with questions of poverty and social justice, leading to the establishment
of groups like CAFOD and Pax Christi – Catholic charities committed to peace
and social justice. Peace and social justice are two important causes that
motivate many Catholics in their faith today.
Relevant reference to sources could include: • Sacrosanctum Concilium:
“…since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of
the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great
advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended.” (36.2)
• Gaudium et Spes:
“Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the
maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by
dictatorship. Instead, it is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice.
Peace results from that order structured into human society by its divine Founder
and actualised by men as they thirst after ever greater justice. The common good
of humanity finds its ultimate meaning in the eternal law … peace on earth cannot
be obtained unless personal well-being is safeguarded, and men freely and
trustingly share with one another the riches of their inner spirits and their talents.
A firm determination to respect other men and peoples and their dignity, as well
as the studied practice of brotherhood are absolutely necessary for the
establishment of peace. Hence peace is likewise the fruit of love, which goes
beyond what justice can provide.” (78)
