Fr Arockia Rayappan –
Some of our own Christ’s faithful have spared their valuable time to share their perspectives with the readers of the Indian Catholic Matters on the invitation of our Beloved Pope Francis to study the fundamentalistic themes of the documents of the Second Vatican Council in preparation for Jubilee 2025.
In both the papal invitation and the preparatory process for the celebration of Jubilee 2025, Father Cedric Prakash, S.J., Reverend Cedric Prakash SJ, an internationally acclaimed human rights, reconciliation & peace activist/writer, shares an authentic and missionary renewal of the hierarchy and priests very much needed for the Church in India to enable them to offer prophetic leadership. He is also a recipient of several international and national awards.
“Sixty years ago, on 11 October 1962, Pope (now Saint) John XXIII formally opened the Second Vatican Council. This Council was in the wake of the many problems that confronted the modern world and the urgency of Christians (very particularly the Catholic Church) to be able to respond to the signs of the times. In his opening address to the Council, Pope John XXIII said, “What is needed at the present time is a new enthusiasm, a new joy and serenity of mind in the unreserved acceptance by all of the entire Christian faith, without forfeiting that accuracy and precision in its presentation which characterized the proceedings of the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council. What is needed, and what everyone imbued with a truly Christian, Catholic, and apostolic spirit craves today, is that this doctrine shall be more widely known, more deeply understood, and more penetrating in its effects on men’s moral lives. What is needed is that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which the faithful owe obedience, be studied afresh and reformulated in contemporary terms. For this deposit of faith, or truths which are contained in our time-honoured teaching is one thing; the manner in which these truths are set forth (with their meaning preserved intact) is something else”. The world and the Church today are faced with a similar reality and with the growing challenges of ‘modern times.’ It is therefore significant that Pope Francis has initiated in the Universal Church the process of Synodality with the three inter-related dimensions of communion, participation and mission. More importantly, the year 2025 has been declared as a Jubilee Year on the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. For this Pope Francis has invited all Catholics towards a preparatory process. The year 2023 is to study deeply the Documents of Vatican II, which include the four Constitutions: on the Sacred Liturgy (‘Sacrosanctum Concilium’), Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (‘Lumen Gentium’), Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (‘Dei Verbum’), and Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (‘Gaudium et Spes’); the three Declarations and the nine Decrees. All these sixteen Documents make up a composite whole. All are called to read, study, intensely reflect, and pray over these documents. Ultimately, this preparatory process must ensure the internalization and actualization of the directions provided by the Council through its documents, for a meaningful Jubilee Year! The challenge then is for the Church today, particularly the hierarchy and clergy, to make the vision and mission of Vatican II a reality today through an authentic renewal and as desired by Pope Francis”.
Father and Professor Bhausaheb Sansare, S.J., is the Rector of Papal Seminary, Pune since December 2017. He completed his Theological Studies and Master’s in Pastoral Theology in Innsbruck, Austria, and a Post-graduate Diploma in Pastoral Management at Jnana Deepa Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Pune. In his province of Pune, he has held the following responsibilities of Superior and Director of St. Joseph’s Technical Institute, Pune; Province Coordinator for Formation and then Provincial of Pune Jesuit Province 2011 – 2017. He reminds us of the call for mission-oriented transformation, realization, collaboration, cooperation, networking, and a shared mindset with his timely response;
“Pope Francis’ suggestion to study, reflect and assimilate the four Constitutions of Vatican Council II —namely, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Sacred Liturgy), Lumen Gentium (The Church), Dei Verbum (Divine Revelation) and Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the Modern World) – is an invitation to introspect on the works that one does in the context of the current global scenario. Limiting my reflections to our human vocation – the first and foundational call that we receive from God is to become a human person. Realization of this call in each of us is imperative. In enhancing the realization of our human call, the religions around us play a very vital role. For Christians, Christ has laid the foundation for realizing humanity in us based on God’s unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness, expressed in the ten commandments and the works of mercy. Thus, the elementary nature of the Church is to reveal God’s unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness through the life of her members and disciples. So, the integration of the ministries and mysteries of Christ is the only source for the Church to reveal God and through Him to realize the humanity in human beings. Being founded on the Word of God, our worship must initiate in and through us the works of mercy and forgiveness and promote humanity. By making our life more comfortable and sophisticated through the facilities it offers us, the modern world today has become a big roadblock to revealing and realizing humanity in all human beings, through our words, worship, and works of mercy and forgiveness. Thus, the study of the four Constitutions of Vatican Council II will help us to update our inner self spiritually and authentically. One cannot overcome life’s challenges by indulging in one’s comforts. Rather, it needs daily-concrete examen of consciousness and conscience – personal preparation for personal transformation – the inseparable steppingstone for discernment in common for a given-mission. So, the discernment in common enhances our progressive approach, summarized in the forms of collaboration, cooperation, networking, and a shared mindset. The said study will surely shake us up from our comfort zones to address the painful challenges of our times, namely, wars, violence, and the pathetic situation of refugees and migrants.”
Professor André Gagné, Ph.D., is a Full Professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. His teaching and research focus has been on Religion and Politics, and Religious Violence. Dr. Gagné’s work has been featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Paris Match, and more. He reminds us to revisit the works of the Council Periti (Fathers of the Council), to lessons provided by Nouvelle théologie, and to study and reflect on the Sixteen Documents of the Second Vatican Council:
“It’s important to study Vatican II especially due to the impact of the Nouvelle théologie and leaders such as De Lubac and Congar, and how these played a significant role in helping the church face the challenges of the modern world at the dawn of the 3rd millennium, leading the way toward ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.”
Reverend Dr. Karen Petersen Finch is an ecumenical theologian in the Reformed tradition who specializes in dialogue with Roman Catholic theology at the international, national, and local levels. Karen is the Professor of Pastoral Leadership at The Presbyterian College in Montréal, QC, Canada and represents the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the Reformed-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. She is the author of Grassroots Ecumenism: The Way of Local Christian Reunion. She studied the theological method of Bernard Lonergan, SJ at Gonzaga University and Boston College. She has published widely on its application to ecumenical dialogue. Her holistic understanding of Vatican II and optimistic response is resplendent in the Spirit of Ecumenism that pervaded the participants of Vatican II, and of the Richness of the Spirituality of the Cross:
“As a member of the Roman Catholic-Reformed Ecumenical Dialogue in the United States, I am grateful that Pope Francis is calling all Catholics to re-engage with the central Constitutions of Vatican II. In fact, Francis’ whole ministry can be viewed as a call to fully receive the Council and its spirit. As Catholics around the world prepare for the coming Jubilee, I pray that they will remember how Vatican II restored “a climate of hope and trust” [Francis’ words] between alienated Christian communities. May the Jubilee also call Catholics to re-engage with the ecumenical spirit that pervaded the Council’s work and launched so many dialogues. Its logo reminds every Christian that our movements toward unity will not be successful unless we cling together to the cross of Jesus Christ which alone is our anchor and our hope.”
Being enriched by the wisdom and renewal of the Spirit and by investing the resources available to study the documents of the Second Vatican Council now, may all of us, you, and me, “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer” (Romans 12.12) as we await the celebrations of Jubilee 2025! As we meditate on the richness of the Conciliar Spirit, “May the Almighty and Merciful God make us firm in faith, joyful in hope, and active in charity” (adapted from the Solemn Blessing during the Advent Season Holy Mass).
Arockia Rayappan is a priest of Delhi Archdiocese and a Ph.D. student at Concordia University, Canada. His doctoral research explores practical, resourceful, and sustainable ways to foster social and religious harmony through Basic Ecclesial Communities in the contemporary Indian multi-cultural, pluri-religious, social, economic, and political milieu. He dedicates the articles on Vatican II and Jubilee 2025 to the friends, teachers, professors, formators and spiritual guides at College Platon, Jnana Deepa – Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Papal Seminary, Vishwa Jyoti Gurukul, Vinay Gurukul, Saint Jude Thaddeus’ School, to the victims of the Covid-pandemic, particularly to the late Fr. Isaac who died on April 30, 2021 , during the first wave of Covid-19. The author’s contributions have been published in Indian Catholic Matters, The New Leader, The Voice of Delhi, Dilli Vaani, JDV Times, The Indian Currents, The Herald, The Examiner, News and Views, Ishvani, Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection – VJRT, (Vidyajyoti College, Delhi), The Tablet (Brooklyn, USA), Golden Key – GKA, (Atlanta, USA), and Journal of the Council for Research on Religion – JCREOR, (School of Religious Studies, McGill University, Canada).