The 2nd Vatican Council Essay -- History Religion Catholic Religious E

The 2nd Vatican Council Starting with the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Catholic Church established a tradition of worldwide Council meetings to help locate on and shape the future of the Church. The most recent Council, called Vatican II, is considered to be twain the largest ever in scope and also the most ground jailbreak in the amount of change it yielded. The changes in article of faith, dogma and procedure they enacted had major(ip) effects both inside and outside the Catholic Church and prevent to today. Before the Vatican II the Catholic Church was an aging dinosaur, still lame by the Reformation and unable to relate to contemporary man. It emerged from it a mod Church, tolerant and accepting of other religions, accessible to the laity and ready to detainment with this age of reason over faith. I contend that the Vatican II council, speckle not being perfect or perhaps as reform-minded as it should hasten been, was just what the Catholic Church needed if it mean to maintain its status as one of the largest denominations on Earth.This paper is dissever up in to two portions, the first a historical tale of events of the council and the second an analysis of the most important of the 16 documents approved by the assembled Fathers and their effect on the Catholic Church. WHAT HAPPENED On January 25th 1959, Pope fast one XXIII announced that he was assembling what was to be the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. He proclaimed to his closest advisors that the purpose of the council would be to proclaim the truth, bring Christians closer to the faith, and contribute at the same measure to peace and prosperity on earth. Pope John immediately make it very clear that his papal reign, which up until this point was considered rather inconsequential, was way out to make a difference.Councils of the church are called to contemplate and reevaluate the churchs position on matters such as church administration, doctrine and dis cipline. An ecumenical council is a worldwide council that can only be called by the pope. All bishops and other high-ranking members of the whole church are to be present. This was to be the first major council in the Church since the original Vatican Council that was convened in 1869-1870. Immediately after the popes order the Vaticans bureaucratism of religious leaders, which is known as the Curia, sprung... ...ly did little more than grant official consent to the beliefs that were already present by that time in the minds of the absolute majority of Fathers. It still was a necessary step and required a mussiness of bravery on the part of those involved. Without it the Church may well have become a trivial antiquity too stuck in its middle-aged ways to be in any way relevant to the new-made world. Works CitedBasset, Bernard. Preist in the piazza. Goal line tribute to a council, with illustrations by Penelope Harter. Fresno Academy Guild Press, 1963.Berkouwer, G.C. The Second Vatican Council and the new Catholicism. Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1965Caporale, Rock. Vatican II Last of the councils. Balitmore Helicon, 1964.Catholic Church Pope John XXIII. Apostolic garner of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II on the 25 anniversay of the promulgation of the conciliar Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy. Washington D.C. United States Catholic Conference, 1988. MacEoin, Gary. What Happened at Rome? The Council and Its Implications for the Modern World. Garden City Doubleday, 1966.Ratzinger, Joseph. Theological Highlights of Vatican II. sensitive York Paulist Press, 1967.