20 Marian Helper • Fall 2022 • Marian.org Vatican II at 60 Almost every ecumenical council in the history of the Church has been followed by a period of lively debate: What goals did the Council Fathers intend to achieve, and how should we interpret the results? It’s similar to the way a freshly-baked cake is judged at a baking contest: What was the baker trying to do, and how well did that baker accomplish the task? The Second Vatican Council, which opened 60 years ago on Oct. 11, 1962, is no exception to this general rule. Just as you can best understand the goals and achievements of bakeries by listening to the master bakers involved, so we can understand the goals and achievements of Vatican II by paying attention to the saints, the best friends of Christ, who actually attended its proceedings and participated in fashioning its documents: saints like Pope St. John XXIII, Pope St. Paul VI, and Pope St. John Paul II. Any interpretation of the Council that is not in harmony with their perspectives also is not likely to be in harmony with what the Holy Spirit wanted to say to the Church through Vatican II. Historical context To begin with, we need to see the Council in the conBy Robert Stackpole, STD ‘Christify,’ not modernize, the world A session of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Basilica.
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