Yesterday was the official start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The church where I attended Mass (not my usual church) had only one mention of it, in the Prayer of the Faithful. Without that, pretty much no one would have known. Pope Pius IX got more air time, on the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, than Pope Francis and the Jubilee Year did. There was no mention of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council either.
This connection between the Jubilee Year of Mercy and Vatican II is an especially poignant and important one. Here is the passage from the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee that names it. I wonder if anyone in our churches will hear these stirring words of Pope Francis? Or, instead, will the Vatican II connection (and the de facto interpretation of the Council this statement contains) be glossed over or left unmentioned?
It’s a rather long passage to quote, but it’s very strong. Do read these words of Pope Francis:
I have chosen the date of 8 December because of its rich meaning in the recent history of the Church. In fact, I will open the Holy Door on the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The Church feels a great need to keep this event alive. With the Council, the Church entered a new phase of her history. The Council Fathers strongly perceived, as a true breath of the Holy Spirit, a need to talk about God to men and women of their time in a more accessible way. The walls which for too long had made the Church a kind of fortress were torn down and the time had come to proclaim the Gospel in a new way. It was a new phase of the same evangelization that had existed from the beginning. It was a fresh undertaking for all Christians to bear witness to their faith with greater enthusiasm and conviction. The Church sensed a responsibility to be a living sign of the Father’s love in the world.
We recall the poignant words of Saint John XXIII when, opening the Council, he indicated the path to follow: “Now the Bride of Christ wishes to use the medicine of mercy rather than taking up arms of severity… The Catholic Church, as she holds high the torch of Catholic truth at this Ecumenical Council, wants to show herself a loving mother to all; patient, kind, moved by compassion and goodness toward her separated children”. Blessed Paul VI spoke in a similar vein at the closing of the Council: “We prefer to point out how charity has been the principal religious feature of this Council… the old story of the Good Samaritan has been the model of the spirituality of the Council… a wave of affection and admiration flowed from the Council over the modern world of humanity. Errors were condemned, indeed, because charity demanded this no less than did truth, but for individuals themselves there was only admonition, respect and love. Instead of depressing diagnoses, encouraging remedies; instead of direful predictions, messages of trust issued from the Council to the present-day world. The modern world’s values were not only respected but honoured, its efforts approved, its aspirations purified and blessed… Another point we must stress is this: all this rich teaching is channelled in one direction, the service of mankind, of every condition, in every weakness and need”.
With these sentiments of gratitude for everything the Church has received, and with a sense of responsibility for the task that lies ahead, we shall cross the threshold of the Holy Door fully confident that the strength of the Risen Lord, who constantly supports us on our pilgrim way, will sustain us. May the Holy Spirit, who guides the steps of believers in cooperating with the work of salvation wrought by Christ, lead the way and support the People of God so that they may contemplate the face of mercy.
Church historian Massimo Faggioli in his book, Vatican II: The Battle for Meaning, noted that Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict (for most of the period as Cardinal prefect of the CDF) have been the principal interpreters of the Council, and they represented contrasting views in dialogue throughout the post-conciliar period: positive/affirming and negative/critical.
With this Bull of Indiction, I think Pope Francis has emerged as another “principal interpreter” of the Council, and one who is rising. His decision to link the Year of Mercy explicitly to Vatican II highlights affirmatively the Council’s role in the “turn toward the world” of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, he closely links the Council to service.
Both quotes, from St John XXIII and Blessed Paul VI, see a positive role for the modern world, even as that world stands in need of purification. The world-affirming aspect of the legacy of Vatican II is lifted up unmistakably by Francis.
Pope Francis speaks of the “new phase” the Council inaugurates, the abandonment of a “fortress” mentality, and the beginning of a “new phase” of the same evangelization — rather than a “new evangelization.” By so doing, he clears up a number of points. First, Francis parts company with those who would argue that Vatican II was not doing something new. He sees change as part of history.
Second, a gravitational pull back to a fortress mentality can be felt all around us in the Catholic Church. Francis is obviously rejecting that.
Third, the word choice about evangelization is significant. He honors all those who evangelized through the ages, the missionaries, and more. (Without the heightened influence of missionaries prior to the Council, by the way, many of its landmark developments in the area of inculturation, ecumenism, and decentralization would not have been possible.) But his choice not to tag it “the new evangelization” also allows back into the discussion the legacy of Paul VI (especially Evangelii nuntiandi) which has been overshadowed by John Paul II.
He also talks about the Church as “a living sign.” This echo of Lumen Gentium connects to Francis’s passion for getting out of the sacristy and into the streets, and it is also a manifestation of the ecclesiology of Sacrosanctum Concilium:
For the liturgy . . . is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. [SC. 2, emphasis added]
To sum up, in his statement about the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is interpreting Vatican II in a way that is favorable to new forms of proclamation, along with growth, development, and outreach in service. He is also situating the Council at a pivotal point historically. We can look back with gratitude upon it, and move forward with a responsibility to carry it out. This is what “keeping alive” the Council means concretely.
To tell the truth, without the anchor in the anniversary of the Council, it would be easy to slip into platitudes about the Year of Mercy. Jubilees come and go. But seeing it, as Francis does, as part of our historical pilgrimage as a Church — the next step on our journey — it becomes a bracing challenge. Here is the way we must walk.
What is your parish doing for the Year of Mercy? If the opening I experienced on December 8 is any indication, sadly, we’re not doing much!
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