VATICAN II –A CASE FOR BOTH/AND

 

Those of us old enough to remember the Second Vatican Council  (1962-1965) hopefully remember it as a time of great excitement for Catholics.  Though most of the information we received came through the public media from journalists for Time magazine and newscasters for NBC, Catholics were getting a lot of attention!  It was a moment of incredible newness in the Church and, at the same time, a return to the Gospels and the theology of the early Church.  It was some time before the results of the Council filtered down to us in the pews and not everyone was happy with those results.  To this day there continues to be a certain amount of polarization among some Catholics as a result of the Council.

 

A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear Fr. Timothy Radcliff, O.P., former Master General of the Dominican Order, speak on this topic at the L.A. Congress (a conference that draws 20-25 thousand enthusiastic Catholics each year!) in which he shared his thoughts on this polarization and how we might address it. I believe his thoughts bear repeating.

 

He began by reminding us that there have always been tensions within the Church going back to Peter and Paul and that this is healthy. He described the modern tensions as being between what he terms “Communion Catholics” and “Kingdom Catholics.”  He sees Communion Catholics as those who stress Catholic identity and are concerned about a hasty embrace of modernity, and Kingdom Catholics as those who have a deep sense of the church as the pilgrim people of God on the way to the kingdom.  Some may find the terms “identity” (i.e. who we are as Catholics) and “mission” (i.e. what we do with our Catholic faith) more meaningful.

 

Fr. Timothy suggests that we probably will find some attraction to both of these traditions but will find a primary identification with one or the other. Once we do, it is important that we try to understand why others think and feel as they do and, especially, to see the two views not as either/or but as both/and.  From this same perspective, Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago, shortly before his death, established the “Common Ground Initiative” inviting Catholics of different views to come together and begin by talking about what they have in common.  “We need to talk about the basic dogmas of our faith and try to find new ways to express them.” From there respectful dialogue can proceed.

 

In his concluding remarks, Fr. Timothy related this issue to the Last Supper at which Jesus shared with his disciples his body and his blood. The bread is given to the disciples. “This is my body, given for you.” The sharing of Christ’s body gathers the community together.  In Jesus’ words over the cup, he blesses it for “you and for all,” expressing a reaching out to all humanity. “The central sacrament of the Church, the sign of our shared home, has a double rhythm: it gathers in and it reaches out. It is like breathing in and out; we need both if we are to live.”

 

So…as we gather around the Eucharistic table each week, let us do so with open minds and hearts.  There is a wonderful quote attributed to Pope John XXIII: “In essentials unity, in nonessentials diversity, but in all things charity.”  Amen!

 

 

Sister Marie Wiedner, O.P.