Lumen Gentium
Vatican 11 Lumen Gentium 1964
From 1100 - Council of Trent
From 1100 the papacy began to centralise
authority and power
 And became increasingly juridical
 Power was taken from local bishops
 And transferred to the Vatican
 And the Vatican required more money to
run the church
 Allowed pluralism and absenteeism

Council of Constance 1414-1418
When 3 popes existed......
 Call for radical reform
 Summoned by King Sigismund
 Finally elected one pope
 2 decisions: that Councils have supreme
authority
 That Councils should be called at
frequent and regular intervals

Council v Pope - ?
The ‘Conciliar’ movement – that the
Councils have at least as much authority
as the Pope if not more – has continued
to this day.
 Sadly the decrees of the Council of
Constance were not adhered to
 Popes went back to being autocratic,
monarchical, worldly, expensive

Response to attack...

The Council of Trent responded to attack
by shoring up the authority of the Vatican,
underlining and emphasising doctrine,
underlining boundaries.

This was repeated at Vatican 1
Vatican 1

1869 – 1870
Declaration of Papal Infallibility
 ‘inerrancy in matters of faith and morals’


Unfinished business because of the
Franco Prussian war
1. Pre Vatican 11
French revolution – 1789
 Democracy – 19th and 20th centuries
 Modernism 1850 - 1930
 Puis X - Encyclical ‘Pascendi’

◦ Decree ‘Lamentabili’ 1907
Early 20th century
Liturgical movement developing
 Biblical scholarship 1940s
 Social action / social justice
 Rerum Novarum 1891 and
 Quadragesimo Anno 1931

Mid 20th century
Lay Apostolate
 Ecumenical movement
 Missionary movement
 Theological renewal

Karl Rahner (Transcendental
Thomism)

Yves Congar (ecclesiology)

Vatican 2 1962 - 5

unique because it involved so many

More than 2,600 bishops out of 2,908
eligibles

Over 3,000 participants:

Geographically diverse:
Geographically diverse...
1, 089 from Europe
 489 South America
 404 North America
 374 Asia
 296 Africa
 84 Central America
 75 Oceania

Greater Diversity

Ecumenical: 63 Non Catholic Observers

Laity involved:
11 laymen allowed to attend the second
session increased to 52 by the fourth.
(29 men + 23 women (10 nuns))



Communication improved and great TV
publicity
Pope John 23

Reminded people at the beginning that
there was a distinction between ‘the
substance of the ancient doctrine...is
one thing and the way it is
presented is another.’

This was a radical departure from
the uniformity previously seen as
crucial.
Topics covered: The Church

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine
Revelation

Declaration on Christian Education

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Ministries
Decree on ministry and life of priests
 Decree on priestly formation
 Decree on Bishops’ Pastoral Office
 Decree on Appropriate Renewal of
Religious Life
 Decree on Apostolate of the Laity

Relating to other beliefs
Decree on Ecumenism
 Decree on Eastern Churches


Declaration on Non-Christian Religions
Relating to the world
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in
the Modern World
 Decree on the Church’s Missionary
Activity
 Declaration on Religious Freedom
 Decree on the Instruments of Social
Communication

Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church
The Mystery of the Church
 The People of God
 The Church is Hierarchical
 The Laity
 The universal call to holiness
 Religious
 The Pilgrim Church
 The Blessed Virgin Mary

Some headlines

Church a mystery before all- a reality
imbued with the presence of God

A sacrament- an visible sign of an invisible
grace n1
The People of God
The People of God –OT resonance
 Yves Congar: church as resistance
movement
 Everybody baptised: priests and laity
 All baptised and Eucharistic Christians
 ‘All women and men are called to belong
to the new people of God’ N13

Church and Kingdom
N8: the unique church of Christ....This
church...subsists in the Catholic Church
which is governed by the successor of
Peter and by he bishops in communion
with him.
 Nevertheless many elements of
sanctification and of truth are found
outside its visible confines

Structure
Hierarchy

Enables the church to carry out its
mission

Collegial authority n22


The Church’s mission is the responsibility
of every baptised Eucharistic Christian

Lay people participate in the ‘tria munera’ of
Christ ; the roles of priest, prophet and king

Lay people should participate in the
apostolate of the church by the exercise of
their own gifts and charisms

Everybody –ordained and lay alike – is called
to holiness
The role of Mary
Mary, the mother of God – ‘theotokos ‘
 The model of discipleship
 Roots the church in the Incarnation
 She formed the early years of Jesus
 Her life is commitment and humility
 All the events of her life support her son
Jesus
 First in the Church, a constant signpost
for everyone else

Results?

Did this advance the laity in the church? Osborne 1994

Did it change prevailing ecclesiologies?

General Catechetical Directory 1971

CCC 1994

One Bread One Body 1998

Dominus Iesus 2000
Ecumenism
Changes
 Establishment of Secretariat for Christian
Unity
 Acceptance that the Holy Spirit exists in
other non-Christian faiths
