Those of us who were here before Vatican II hardly had any doubts about doctrine or morals. Everything was spelled out succinctly and clearly. Then John XXIII was elected Pope, and after three months he convoked the Vatican Council.

Thanks to the media, people could follow, albeit not directly, what the Council Fathers were discussing, and they could see that they were not always in agreement. Pope Paul VI, who took over the running of the Council after the demise of Pope John, tried hard to get unanimity when it came to voting the final versions of the documents but he never succeeded fully.

Vatican II was completely different from the many which preceded it. Those ended with a document consisting of short laws or canons proscribing or prescribing certain behaviours, usually with penalties attached for non-observance. The Vatican II documents are voluminous but without a single canon. Rather they paint an attractive picture of an ideal, inviting all to long to attain it.

Many Catholics felt liberated but others were not at ease with this new style and were disturbed. They felt lost; they found it difficult to live the faith without the precise guidelines they were used to.

Some continue to prefer to stick to the principle that they feel should be applied as is

During Vatican II, theologians had a very important role. They accompanied the bishops, most of whom were not theologians, and, most of the time, they were the ones who prepared the documents to be discussed. They also briefed the bishops before these discussed the documents in the Council hall.

This partially explains the divergences of the positions assumed by the Council Fathers. It has to be kept in mind that Theology is different from Catechism. Theology is an ongoing activity defined as “faith seeking understanding”. God’s mystery is by far too huge for us to grasp completely but through prayer and reflection on the word of God and openness to our experience of the Spirit working in our lives and in the world, we can limply arrive at an ever better understanding of the mystery. This is work in progress.

Catechism is a compendium of the doctrine and morals of the Church as understood and promulgated by the Church at a particular time. Its aim is to promulgate the Church’s teaching but it is more like a snapshot than ongoing.

When John Paul II became Pope, he brought with him a different experience of the Church. The Church in Poland was in a struggle with Communism and the only bulwark resisting the regime. In such a situation it was important to be monolithic.

As Pope, he opted for a strong central authority and was not happy with theologians who sought new ways of expressing the faith. He also commissioned the Catechism of the Church, which would serve as a sort of benchmark for theological expression.

Pope Paul VI had established the synods of bishops to serve as mini-Councils. Through them he sought the help of the bishops in running the Church. During the papacies of John Paul and Benedict, synods were dominated by members of the Roman Curia and there was little room for the bishops to express themselves freely.

All this changed with the coming of Pope Francis, as we could see during the two sessions of the synod on Love in the Family. The members of the synod were given a free hand and even encouraged to state their beliefs without fear. Their divergences were obvious and widely publicised.

Pope Francis was not perturbed. He understood perfectly well that there were no neat and clear answers for complicated issues. As for praxis, he distinguished between the principle and its application. Principles do not change but their application needs to also consider the context, and there is no one context that is perfectly identical to another.

Some continue to prefer to stick to the principle that they feel should be applied as is. For Pope Francis this would not be leaving enough room for the mercy of God who is patient and who waits for us as we, gradually cooperating with his grace, grow to live God’s will in its fullness.

ajsmicallef@gmail.com

Fr Alfred Micallef is a member of the Society of Jesus.

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