American Catholicism and Vatican II
This is an excerpt from the paper...
In 1965, responding to a call from Pope John XXIII, the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and theological scholars of the Roman Catholic Church met in Rome at an ecumenical council. According to Pope John XXIII, the purpose of the council was to advance aggioranamento or "renewal" (Cairns, 1981, p. 459). Pope John XXIII wanted this second Vatican council to be pastoral rather than doctrinal or governmental. In other words, it was the hope of Pope John XXIII that the council would create new attitudes affecting relations with Protestant and Orthodox denominations within Christendom. It was not his intent to bring about any immediate major change in doctrine or polity (Cairns, 1981). However, these changes have been forthcoming in the United States and will serve as the focus of this report on religion in America. The unintended effects of Vatican II, along with its intended effects, have essentially reshaped the Roman Catholic experience in the United States today. The resulting shifts have been dramatic. They have repositioned Roman Catholicism within the context of national churches at what James Biechler (2001) has characterized as a de-emphasis on the authority of Rome. During Vatican II, a spirit of questioning and self-examination permeated the deliberations undertaken by representatives of the Church (Koszarycz, 2002). Reflecting the new spirit of renewal sought by Pope John XXIII, individual leaders such as Hans Kung even raised questions about papal infall
. . .
. 18).
While Martin (1987) maintains that liberation theology has not become a household word or concern in the United States, it has gained wide acceptance among many Jesuit theologians and other intellectuals in the universal Catholic Church. At the core of liberation theology is the determination to engender sweeping changes in many fundamental rules and protocols of the Church. These changes include redefining marriage, homosexuality, human liberty, piety, and even a number of the basic and obligatory dogmas of the Church.
Martin (1987) insists that many of the pronouncements of Vatican II underpin and authenticate much of content of liberation theology. It is his belief that Vatican II so introduced modernism and the notion of archiepiscopal autonomy into the Church that what has resulted is a church organization that is in shambles, a rebellious and decadent clergy, an ignorant and recalcitrant body of bishops, and a confused and divided assembly of believers. What was once a Church able to present itself as "the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, appears now as a pluralistic, permissive, ecumenical, and evolutionary ecclesiastical group" (Martin, 1987, p. 329).
The new theology or at least the new theologica
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Vatican II, Catholic Church, Paul II, John XXIII, Conciliar Church, Roman Catholic, Europe United, Jesus Christ, Protestant Orthodox, United Sungenis, vatican ii, pope john, roman catholic, catholic church, martin 1990, roman catholic church, liberation theology, martin 1987, john paul, john xxiii, pope john xxiii, paul ii, john paul ii, pope john paul, paul ii 1995,
Approximate Word count = 2066
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
More Essays on American Catholicism and Vatican II
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
