WHY THE SPIRIT OF VATICAN II SUCCEEDED
It is easy to turn to the corrupt Cardinals and bishops in the Vatican at the time and blame them for imposing the Spirit of Vatican II, which of course was correct and they did. However this is not the whole story for there seems to be some sort of illogicality in those who condemned Vatican II itself. In doing so they handed the game, set, and match to the Reformers.
What future Catholics will be led to believe is that all the Catholic Bishops in the world came to Rome with the intention of changing the Church - they were all Reformers. It is a nonsense but when people stand up and condemn Vatican II this is exactly what they are saying. All the bishops of the world had become heretics.
When I first read the documents, yes, there were translations which made me raise my eyebrows but none of them were actually denying the position of the Church and when fighting against the Reformers I have always used the documents to defend my position. Let me take one example. In 'Gaudium et Spes' the reading went "...in so far as they accept the teachings of the Church the Protestant Churches are in an incomplete union with the Catholic Church...." I raised my eyebrows here but examined and thought about it. Yes, each true doctrine they hold brings them close to the Catholic Church and if this is what incomplete union means it is not heretical. Then I sat down once at a catechetical course to hear that Vatican II said that all Christians are one Church with different branches. This is certainly not what incomplete union could possibly mean, and the text put Protestants as being in incomplete union with Catholis, not the other way around. The Catholic Church was the central Church.
Now it would have been helpful in those early days if instead of writing off Vatican II many traditional Catholics had taken the argument to the Reformers, pointing out the corrupt interpretations - but many had lost the plot. They had left the playing field and the Reformers had won game, set, and match.
I am now finding much of the same attitude to the latest Papal Exhortation. In so far as the Pope holds firm to a traditional way of thinking which has only grown up in the Church over the past fifty years he is acceptable. In so far as he departs from that way of thinking - he is a heretic. And it looks again like the Reformers will win without even batting a ball.
What future Catholics will be led to believe is that all the Catholic Bishops in the world came to Rome with the intention of changing the Church - they were all Reformers. It is a nonsense but when people stand up and condemn Vatican II this is exactly what they are saying. All the bishops of the world had become heretics.
When I first read the documents, yes, there were translations which made me raise my eyebrows but none of them were actually denying the position of the Church and when fighting against the Reformers I have always used the documents to defend my position. Let me take one example. In 'Gaudium et Spes' the reading went "...in so far as they accept the teachings of the Church the Protestant Churches are in an incomplete union with the Catholic Church...." I raised my eyebrows here but examined and thought about it. Yes, each true doctrine they hold brings them close to the Catholic Church and if this is what incomplete union means it is not heretical. Then I sat down once at a catechetical course to hear that Vatican II said that all Christians are one Church with different branches. This is certainly not what incomplete union could possibly mean, and the text put Protestants as being in incomplete union with Catholis, not the other way around. The Catholic Church was the central Church.
Now it would have been helpful in those early days if instead of writing off Vatican II many traditional Catholics had taken the argument to the Reformers, pointing out the corrupt interpretations - but many had lost the plot. They had left the playing field and the Reformers had won game, set, and match.
I am now finding much of the same attitude to the latest Papal Exhortation. In so far as the Pope holds firm to a traditional way of thinking which has only grown up in the Church over the past fifty years he is acceptable. In so far as he departs from that way of thinking - he is a heretic. And it looks again like the Reformers will win without even batting a ball.
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