Do you know about Conciliaria? It is a wonderful a blog that follows the preparations and, eventually, proceedings of the Second Vatican Council on any given day exactly 50 years ago.
Conciliaria has much archival content from America, Commonweal, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (content from the Council Daybook). They are also providing translations of original documents, some of which have never been presented in English before.
Conciliaria invites writers to provide coverage of various Council and Council-related events as though they are there 50 years ago. They tell me that their first will be a report on the August 1962 North American Liturgical Week in Seattle by Fr. Michael Ryan of the Seattle cathedral.
There are already some great reports at Conciliaria.
Here’s Pope John XXIII to Cardinal Cicognani about the backward, literalistic views of the Biblical Commission and its attacks against Cardinal Agustin Bea, rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, where progressive approaches to biblical scholarship were favored:
The time has come to put an end to this nonsense. Either the Biblical Commission will bestir itself, do some proper work and by its suggestions to the Holy Father make a useful contribution to the needs of the present time, or it would be better to abolish it and let the Supreme Authority replace it in the Lord by something else.
(BTW, don’t miss our featured post, Vince Smiles’ defense of the historical critical method here.)
And here’s Good Pope John on one of the early drafts of a council document prepared by the curia:
Seven inches of condemnations and one of praise: is that the way to talk to the modern world?—John XXIII
I can’t wait for their report on the liturgical opening of the Council this October 11, which many liturgists of the time deplored.
Hats off to Deacon Eric Stoltz and his team: Deacon William T. Ditewig, Deacon Scott Dodge, and from America, Tim Reidy.
Do bookmark Conciliaria now.
awr
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