Conference titled Vatican II: For the Next Generation, will examine signs of today's times
Catherine Clifford
By: Deborah Gyapong
Canadian Catholic News
OTTAWA (CCN)
A conference here Sept. 27-29 marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council will examine how to "hand on the Gospel today" in light of Vatican II's teachings, said Catherine Clifford, a Saint Paul University theology professor and an organizer of the conference.
"One of our goals is to promote the pastoral renewal of the Church," said Clifford. The conference will be titled "Vatican II: For the Next Generation."
Co-sponsored by the Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism Research Centre at Saint Paul University and Novalis Publishing, the conference will begin a week before bishops from around the world gather in Rome for the Synod on the New Evangelization.
The conference line-up has drawn some controversy, however. The SoCon.ca blog has launched an online petition that blogger John Pacheco hopes will reach 200 names before he sends it at the end of June to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana.
The letter urges the nuncio to advise Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who is to give a keynote address, to avoid the "scandal" of appearing at a conference of "dissenters."
"The world we live in today is very different from the world 50 years ago," Clifford said. Many of the questions are not the same questions the bishops were reflecting on from 1962-<0x2019>65 at the council."
"We're called to read the signs of this time and to engage in that open dialogue in a spirit of humility with other Christians, other faiths, and contemporary society."
When Vatican II opened 50 years ago, it took place against the backdrop of the Cold War, less than 20 years after the end of World War II, said Clifford.
Since then there has been a marked shift to the global integration of societies and culture, she said. "The Internet is part of that."
"It's an era of an unprecedented migration of peoples," she said. "The population of the world has more than doubled; the population of the Catholic Church has more than doubled."
"The majority of Catholics live not in Europe and North America but in the southern hemisphere," she said. "We are a very different Church than we were 50 years ago."
The world is marked by more global structures such as the United Nations, she said. "There is still armed conflict and war but there is more consensus that violence is not the way to solve conflict but only a last resort."
Though poverty and social injustice remain challenges, "in some ways those issues are far more complex than they were 50 years ago," she said.
Another sign is the growing recognition of the dignity of the human person that is probably even stronger than it was 50 years ago, when the civil rights movement in the United States was gaining momentum, she said.
Cardinal Peter Turkson's keynote address will be titled, "Vatican II: A Council of Justice and Peace." He will receive an honorary doctorate at a convocation in the university chapel Sept. 28.
Other conference attendees include Christoph Theobald, SJ, a professor of dogmatic theology from the Centre Sevres in Paris, and Boston College systematic theology professor Richard Gaillardetz. The conference will feature a panel of bishops and advisers who participated in the Council, including Bishop Remi De Roo, a former bishop of Victoria; Bishop Gerard J. Deschamps of Daru-Kiunga, Papua New Guinea; and advisers Gregory Baum, a former Augustinian priest; and Father Leo Laberge, OMI.
The letter to be sent to the nuncio says, "The Holy Father has consistently maintained that the documents of the Vatican II must be understood and interpreted in light of our Catholic Tradition, in a 'hermeneutic of continuity,' to use his nomenclature."
"This is, of course, opposed to the 'hermeneutic of rupture or discontinuity' which the Holy Father has criticized and denounced as a break from our Holy Tradition," the letter said. "But it is very likely that many, if not even most, of the individuals at this conference are advocating positions not only against our Holy Father's vision of Vatican II, but also other positions which are seriously contrary to Catholic teaching."
The letter then critiques the stands of participants on a range of issues.
Clifford said things these theologians have said have been "taken out of context" and are "not a fair representation of the views of the people they are criticizing."
"I think they misrepresent the work and damage the reputations of these people," she said, describing them as "respected theologians and leaders who have given a life of service to the Church and I think in no way are disloyal to the Church and its teaching."
Clifford said the conference has received a high level of positive interest and registrations are flowing in. More information can be found at http://ustpaul.ca or from vaticancentre@ustpaul.ca .
----------------------------------------------------
Theologians focus on prophetic commitments
Jun. 21, 2010
By Thomas C. Fox
Catherine Clifford & Richard Gaillardetz
[Excerpt]
Clifford and Gaillardetz, noting that tradition and the word of God ground the church in faith, said that critical studies have shown that tradition “can distort as well as disclose, it can reveal and conceal aspects of the word and has at times been co-opted to convey the values of ideology and dominant self-interest.”
Drawing on the writings of the French Dominican and Second Vatican Council advisor Fr. Yves Congar, the authors said the baptized faithful, the theologians and the bishops all contribute to receiving the word and maintaining the truth. They all need to work together.
The critical role of the theologian, they said, is to preserve “the priority of the lived faith of the church over its doctrinal formulations.”
“The primary act of ecclesial reception is not that of the faithful obediently embracing the decrees of the magisterium, but the humble reception by the magisterium of the pluriform witness to the Gospel by the whole people of God.”
For the theologian, they said, this requires a deep sense of humility, one that recognizes that bishops, theologians and the entire Christian community need to engage in “respectful conversation, critical inquiry and mutual correction.”
OTTAWA (CCN)
A conference here Sept. 27-29 marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council will examine how to "hand on the Gospel today" in light of Vatican II's teachings, said Catherine Clifford, a Saint Paul University theology professor and an organizer of the conference.
"One of our goals is to promote the pastoral renewal of the Church," said Clifford. The conference will be titled "Vatican II: For the Next Generation."
Co-sponsored by the Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism Research Centre at Saint Paul University and Novalis Publishing, the conference will begin a week before bishops from around the world gather in Rome for the Synod on the New Evangelization.
The conference line-up has drawn some controversy, however. The SoCon.ca blog has launched an online petition that blogger John Pacheco hopes will reach 200 names before he sends it at the end of June to Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana.
The letter urges the nuncio to advise Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who is to give a keynote address, to avoid the "scandal" of appearing at a conference of "dissenters."
"The world we live in today is very different from the world 50 years ago," Clifford said. Many of the questions are not the same questions the bishops were reflecting on from 1962-<0x2019>65 at the council."
"We're called to read the signs of this time and to engage in that open dialogue in a spirit of humility with other Christians, other faiths, and contemporary society."
When Vatican II opened 50 years ago, it took place against the backdrop of the Cold War, less than 20 years after the end of World War II, said Clifford.
Since then there has been a marked shift to the global integration of societies and culture, she said. "The Internet is part of that."
"It's an era of an unprecedented migration of peoples," she said. "The population of the world has more than doubled; the population of the Catholic Church has more than doubled."
"The majority of Catholics live not in Europe and North America but in the southern hemisphere," she said. "We are a very different Church than we were 50 years ago."
The world is marked by more global structures such as the United Nations, she said. "There is still armed conflict and war but there is more consensus that violence is not the way to solve conflict but only a last resort."
Though poverty and social injustice remain challenges, "in some ways those issues are far more complex than they were 50 years ago," she said.
Another sign is the growing recognition of the dignity of the human person that is probably even stronger than it was 50 years ago, when the civil rights movement in the United States was gaining momentum, she said.
Cardinal Peter Turkson's keynote address will be titled, "Vatican II: A Council of Justice and Peace." He will receive an honorary doctorate at a convocation in the university chapel Sept. 28.
Other conference attendees include Christoph Theobald, SJ, a professor of dogmatic theology from the Centre Sevres in Paris, and Boston College systematic theology professor Richard Gaillardetz. The conference will feature a panel of bishops and advisers who participated in the Council, including Bishop Remi De Roo, a former bishop of Victoria; Bishop Gerard J. Deschamps of Daru-Kiunga, Papua New Guinea; and advisers Gregory Baum, a former Augustinian priest; and Father Leo Laberge, OMI.
The letter to be sent to the nuncio says, "The Holy Father has consistently maintained that the documents of the Vatican II must be understood and interpreted in light of our Catholic Tradition, in a 'hermeneutic of continuity,' to use his nomenclature."
"This is, of course, opposed to the 'hermeneutic of rupture or discontinuity' which the Holy Father has criticized and denounced as a break from our Holy Tradition," the letter said. "But it is very likely that many, if not even most, of the individuals at this conference are advocating positions not only against our Holy Father's vision of Vatican II, but also other positions which are seriously contrary to Catholic teaching."
The letter then critiques the stands of participants on a range of issues.
Clifford said things these theologians have said have been "taken out of context" and are "not a fair representation of the views of the people they are criticizing."
"I think they misrepresent the work and damage the reputations of these people," she said, describing them as "respected theologians and leaders who have given a life of service to the Church and I think in no way are disloyal to the Church and its teaching."
Clifford said the conference has received a high level of positive interest and registrations are flowing in. More information can be found at http://ustpaul.ca or from vaticancentre@ustpaul.ca .
----------------------------------------------------
Theologians focus on prophetic commitments
Jun. 21, 2010
By Thomas C. Fox
Catherine Clifford & Richard Gaillardetz
[Excerpt]
Clifford and Gaillardetz, noting that tradition and the word of God ground the church in faith, said that critical studies have shown that tradition “can distort as well as disclose, it can reveal and conceal aspects of the word and has at times been co-opted to convey the values of ideology and dominant self-interest.”
Drawing on the writings of the French Dominican and Second Vatican Council advisor Fr. Yves Congar, the authors said the baptized faithful, the theologians and the bishops all contribute to receiving the word and maintaining the truth. They all need to work together.
The critical role of the theologian, they said, is to preserve “the priority of the lived faith of the church over its doctrinal formulations.”
“The primary act of ecclesial reception is not that of the faithful obediently embracing the decrees of the magisterium, but the humble reception by the magisterium of the pluriform witness to the Gospel by the whole people of God.”
For the theologian, they said, this requires a deep sense of humility, one that recognizes that bishops, theologians and the entire Christian community need to engage in “respectful conversation, critical inquiry and mutual correction.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Catholics urge Vatican Cardinal to skip dissenting conference on Vatican II
BY PATRICK B. CRAINE
Mon Jul 23, 2012 14:30 EST
OTTAWA, Ontario, July 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic activists are urging a Vatican Cardinal to skip a controversial conference at Ottawa’s Saint Paul University this September that features numerous speakers strongly opposed to Catholic teaching.
The “Vatican II for the Next Generation” conference, to be hosted Sept. 27-30 by SPU’s Vatican II and 21st Century Catholicism Research Centre, is intended to honour the 50th anniversary of the Council’s opening.
Cardinal Turkson with Pope John Paul II
In addition to numerous speakers who question Catholic teachings on issues such as abortion, contraception, homosexuality, and women’s ordination, it will feature a keynote address by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Pro-life activist John Pacheco has launched an online petitionto Canada’s nuncio, Archbishop Pedro López Quintana, asking that he ensure Cardinal Turkson is aware of the speakers’ controversial views. It has 240 signatures so far.
“We would hope that a Cardinal of the Church and representative of His Holiness would avoid an occasion of scandal which would be caused by his appearance and participation,” it reads.
Among the controversial speakers is Prof. Richard Gaillardetz, a theologian at Boston College who was rebuked by his bishop in 2008 when he wrote an op-ed arguing that Barack Obama was the “pro-life candidate” in that year’s federal election because of his social policy on poverty and healthcare. He has also questioned the definitive status of Humanae vitae, in which Pope Paul VI reiterated the Church’s condemnation of contraception, and the Church’s teaching on the impossibility of women’s ordination.
The conference will also feature a panel of “witnesses” to the Council who participated in its proceedings fifty years ago, which includes Gregory Baum and Bishop Remi De Roo.
Bishop De Roo, a Council father, is a trained teacher of the new-age ‘Enneagram’ and has been a featured guest at conferences of Call to Action, a notorious dissenting organization which has been denounced by the Vatican for its opposition to Church teaching. He played a key role in the Canadian Bishops’ adoption of the Winnipeg Statement in 1968, in which they opposed Humanae vitae.
De Roo also celebrated a bizarre giant Puppet Mass, with liturgical dancers at a Nov. 6, 2008 Call to Action conference in Milwaukee.
Baum, a former priest, is particularly notorious for helping rally opposition to Humanae Vitae, and has been a prominent activist for same-sex “marriage.”
In a 2009 talk at Saint Paul University, Baum accused Pope Benedict XVI of undermining Vatican II. “A conservative movement, sponsored by the Vatican itself, remains attached to the old paradigm, overlooks the bold texts of the conciliar documents and tries to restore the Catholicism of yesterday,” he said. “Vatican II may suffer neglect for a certain time, but as an ecumenical council it cannot be invalidated.”
A plenary session will feature Fr. Gilles Routhier, a theologian at Laval University whose testimony in a 2009 trial over the Quebec government’s controversial Ethics and Religious Culture program led the judge to forbid parents from opting their children out.
Prof. Catherine Clifford, the conference organizer, told the Catholic Register that critics have taken the speakers’ views “out of context.” “I think they misrepresent the work and damage the reputations of these people,” she said.
“I think we’re at a point in the Church where the laity really need to make their voices heard,” Pacheco told LifeSiteNews. “Faithful Catholics who are loyal to the Magisterium need to have their concerns acted on by the hierarchy - no matter what the cost.”
Saint Paul University did not respond to LifeSiteNews.com by press time.
The online petition is available here.
No comments:
Post a Comment