Second Vatican Council Essay Sample free essay sample

The intervening period between the first and 2nd Vatican Council was a clip for both societal and spiritual revolution. After World War Two. the new medium of telecasting bought the Civil Rights Movement. the Women’s Liberation argument and many other societal and political issues into the sofa suites of 1000000s of people every dark. triping argument and fanning the fires of alteration. The Christian universe did non get away this temper of alteration and in an unprecedented response. the Second Vatican Council was held. Between the clip of the First Vatican Council and the Second Vatican Council the church was really conservative. traditional and remained virtually unchanged. The First Vatican Council addressed issues like rationalism and liberalism. and attempted to maintain them separate from Catholicism. ( Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2012 ) However. in the 1940’s. 50’s and 60’s. constructs such as liberalism. communism. secularism. humanitarianism. ecumenism and equality were all hot button issues that were impacting both the layman and spiritual universe. We will write a custom essay sample on Second Vatican Council Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Pope John felt that the First Vatican Council failed to turn to the pastoral facets of the religion. so the Church decided to re-evaluate its patterns and seek to overhaul the Catholic tradition by integrating facets of these political orientations into Catholicism. ( Voice of Vatican 2. 2012 ) These spiritual paradigm displacements still act upon our universe today to a important extent as subjects discussed during the Council such as ecumenism. secularism. liberalism and equality continue to germinate within the Church today. Vatican 2 was destined to be a extremist displacement from the conservative spirit which had overcome the First Vatican Council. and the general consensus was that the clip was right for a reappraisal of the Churches patterns. ( Gonzalez. Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Vol. 2. 1985 ) While the initial accelerator of the council was Pope John XXIII. many external alterations in the secular universe played a important function in piecing the council. Since the clip of the First council. secularism had taken away and the Church no longer had the political power it one time did. ( Gonzalez. Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Vol. 2. 1985 ) The age of find was over. and independency and liberalism were beef uping. Both the face of Europe and history were changed by the desolation of the two universe wars and the age of engineering and communicating had begun. ( Gonzalez. Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Vol. 2. 1985 ) Thousands of immature people were get downing to protest and demand an terminal to unjust intervention of black Americans and adult females. in add-on to the many more protesting for an terminal to the war in Vietnam. The traditional and moral criterions of the 1930’s and 1940’s were being challenged like neer earlier. Discussions of contraceptive method and abortion in the ‘Roe vs. Wade’ argument. the increasing figure of public schools and secular humanitarianism taking over as the new faith in the media were all issues the Catholic Church was confronting during this period of cynicism and uncertainness. ( My Father’s House. 2007 ) There was a turning inclination to mistrust authorization. and the Church needed to react. In a rare recognition of current tendencies. Pope John XXIII called a council to re-evaluate the Churches patterns and turn to the pastoral elements that were ignored during Vatican 1. The First Vatican Council was started by Pope Pius IX. in an effort to support Catholic followings from the influences of liberalism. modernness. the Gallic Revolution and the Enlightenment while promoting scriptural literalism and Papal authorization. ( Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2012 ) This period between the First and 2nd council placed great accent on upholding traditional values. beliefs and patterns. During this clip. the priest was seen in a really important visible radiation ; he neer faced the fold whilst executing mass and he ever spoke in Latin. ( Mark Pattison. Church News. 2005 ) There was besides really small engagement of the temporalty. significance that there were no readers or curates. everyone was merely a mere perceiver. Communion was ever received on the lingua in a kneeling place a nd matrimony between Catholics and non-Catholics was frowned upon. ( Mark Pattison. Church News. 2005 ) This was a really conservative and traditional clip. in which the Church was really in-ward thought. However. with turning force per unit area from the secular universe to do the Church to follow a more modern manner of thought. the Pope felt that alterations needed to be made and he decided to keep a Second Vatican Council. The Second Vatican Council expressed regard for the truth and goodness that came with modernisation. ( Patheos. 2012 ) The Pope believed that to maintain that word of God relevant in people’s lives. the Church should germinate with a altering secular society. The council was held at St Peters Basilica in the Vatican under Pope John XXIII. on the 11th of October 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December 1965 and addressed issues such as ecclesiology. Holy Eucharist. spiritual freedom and ecumenism. ( New Catholic Encyclopedia. pg. 563. 1967 ) the clip the council ended. the Church promoted a more broad manner of thought. The construction of the Church had become less hierarchal and the function of the temporalty became more empowering. Readers during mass were introduced. curates of the Eucharist and leading functions in parishes such as liturgical groups. As a consequence of the council. the function of the priest was less important. with greater accent being topographi c point on ‘ministering to the people’ . The priest now faces the fold. speaks in the slang and Communion is now received in the manus while standing. Pope John besides called for the growing of ecumenism. by seeking to unify the different denominations which he called the ‘separated brethren’ and promoted Dignitatis Humanae or spiritual freedom which states that the Church will back up the self-respect of the human spirit. These alterations were made in an effort to maintain the church relevant in a modern universe ; nevertheless this does non intend that every Catholic shifted their paradigms with the Church. At the clip of the council. and even now. there are many people within the Catholic community who believe that the church became excessively broad with the reforms made during the council. In stating that. Pope John’s call for a paradigm displacement within the Church was highly successful. as many of the alterations made as a consequence of the Second Vatican council still act upon our thought to day. The Second Vatican Council was a major paradigm displacement in the Church’s history. and still influences our thought to a important extent today. This is apparent in the manner constructs discussed at the council such as secularism. liberalism ; ecumenism and equality continue to be issues the Church faces today. In Australia. for illustration. 23 % of the population place themselves as following ‘no religion’ . ( Australian Census Bureau. 2011 ) The Church continues to be criticised for being excessively conservative sing issues such as abortion and contraceptive method. in add-on to being criticised for go oning to restrict the function of adult females in the Church. ( National Catholic Reporter. 2009 ) Many people besides remain opposed to ecumenism. believing that Catholicism is the lone Church founded by Jesus Christ and that spiritual autonomy is to be condemned. ( National Catholic Reporter. 2009 ) These are all on-going issue which the Church are being asked to see. and the fact that people continue to discourse the alterations made by the council shows merely how relevant this paradigm displacement is in our modern universe. It can be concluded that the Second Vatican Council has had a enormous influence on the post-modern universe. The Church has undergone a dramatic alteration from the conservative clip of the First Vatican Council. which sought to deter Catholics from prosecuting advanced thoughts of the clip. to the inclusive and broad spirit of Vatican 2. Although there are still those who argue about whether or non the Church went excessively far. the general consensus is that the Second Vatican Council revitalised the Church in a really positive manner. It is difficult to conceive of the Catholic Church marinading any relevancy in today’s universe without the alterations adopted as portion of the Second Vatican Council.