Today is the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine. He was a bishop who put into effect the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent. He was canonized a saint and later got a doctrine in being a saint, standing along such figures as Dr. Saint Aquinas and Dr. Saint Augustine and later on Dr. Saint Therese of Lisieux. and Dr. Teresa of Ávila. He had this to say about church councils.
“A general Council represents the universal Church, and hence has the consensus of the universal Church; wherefore if the Church cannot err, neither can a legitimate and approved ecumenical Council err.”
Catholic writer Robert Fastiggi commented on the article Vatican II not sole controversial council, at Catholic World Report, saying…
St. Paul VI died 42 years ago today (August 6, 1978). He approved, decreed, and established all 16 documents of Vatican II “by the apostolic power” given to him by Christ and “in the Holy Spirit.” To claim there are doctinal errors in Vatican II runs into all kinds of serious theological and ecclesiological problems. We do well to follow the understanding of Vatican II as articulated by Dr.Cavadini and all the popes since Vatican II.
If you type in google Vatican 2 FAQ you get a few different options.
You get negativity like this…
1. What is Vatican II?
Vatican II is a disastrous council which was called by John XXIII much to the surprise of everyone, as the Church was in amazing health and thriving at the time.
And then you get stuff like this…
1. What is Vatican II?
Vatican II, or the Second Vatican Council, was the twenty-first (and most recent) ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Ecumenical councils, which go back to the Council of Nicaea in 325, are gatherings of bishops from around the world, under the leadership of the pope, to authoritatively discuss and define Church doctrine and discipline.
Vatican II FAQs – Word on Fire
This is the resource I recommend and stick to because it is faithful and not rebellious against the teaching authority of the church. And the links below also reflect faithful adherence to the magisterium regarding Vatican 2 and also offer a thoughtful reflection on the council. I put this together so that a person could have easy access to this information. So you can be assured that Vatican 2 did not err in their published documents.
So Enjoy and Learn.
The mission of this website is to promote and explain the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) which was the most significant event in the modern era of the Catholic Church. (Website Description)
Two Vatican II misconceptions – Legatus
Some believe that Vatican II was such a watershed that it’s a waste of time to read books published before the Council. That notion, however, is contrary to the Council itself. Vatican II documents are packed with references to ancient and medieval writings. After all, the Bible is an ancient writing that you wouldn’t want to drop from your reading list!- Karl Keating
Deacon Keith Fournier: Remembering St. John Paul II and His Prophetic Warning to the U.S.
Affirmed by many as one of the chief architects of the Second Vatican Council in the Catholic Church and its extraordinary document on the relationship of the Church to the modern world (entitled “Joy and Hope” or “Gaudium et Spes” in Latin), this strong, passionate, charismatic priest and Bishop was chosen to occupy the chair of Peter. At a critical time in the history of both the Church and the world, he stepped forward like a lion, with a prophetic roar. He strode onto that platform with strength and vitality. How well I remember the moment.- Deacon Keith Fournier
Is Vatican II Responsible for What Came After?
When we discussed his article, my friend compared the periods after Trent and Vatican I to the period after Vatican II. The fruits of the first two “were pretty immediately visible in terms of new orders being established, old orders being reformed, bursts of artistic inspiration, and schools and other institutions being founded. From Trent you get Palestrina, Tallis, Victoria, Allegri and the rest, and Tintoretto, Caravaggio, El Greco, and Tasso among the poets.” Vatican I produced similar fruits.
There’s one final question such critics don’t ask: How inculturated and weak the traditionalist-valorized pre-Vatican II Church in the West had to be, that it could fall apart so fast?- David Mills, Is Vatican II Responsible for What Came After? (August 1, 2020) Catholic Herold
Teaching Aid – Alan Schreck – usccb.org
One of Bishop Barron’s many videos on Vatican 2
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