Dialogue and the Spirit of Vatican II: Reading Gaudium et Spes Fifty Years Later

Abstract

It is November of 2014, and I just attended a panel discussion at Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York City. The subject was synod of bishops that was held in Rome in October, 2014, to reflect on the family. Ordinarily, thought of yet another such gathering of celibate men in Catholic Church to discuss things such as marriage and sexuality would make me cringe. Throughout years of papacies 1 knew as an adult (John Paul II and Benedict XVI), Church pronouncements on these topics seemed consistently regressive. As someone who has long been involved in Church-reform movement and who has dedicated much of my academic work to struggles of gay Catholics, I was leery whenever Church leaders issued statements about family life. It would inevitably demonstrate ever-widening gap between bishops' views and what was going on with families in real world, but some notable differences were apparent this time around. First, we have in charge Pope Francis, who seems to have a more progressive point of view than his predecessors (a low bar to surmount, I realize); second, bishops asked for input from lay Catholics beforehand. Granted, this was not carried out in any consistent way globally, but it was a nice gesture toward listening to what everyday Catholics have to say; third, and perhaps most astonishingly, final document was issued with transparency about how bishops voted on each of paragraphs. So, even though progressive content welcoming gay Catholics and reconsidering treatment of those who are divorced and remarried was ultimately defeated, it remained in released text so that we could all know what was discussed--and that many bishops favor change in these areas. There is still a great deal to criticize about this synod and way Church does its business. One need only observe usual problem that there were no women in synod to realize that we still have a long way to go. I am also not holding my breath for any substantive changes in near future. But, I want to use this event as starting point for thinking about possibility of recovering some of positive energy of Second Vatican Council, which both John Paul II and Benedict XVI tried so hard to suppress. We are celebrating fiftieth year of Journal of Ecumenical Studies at same time that we are marking fifty years since closing of Vatican II. What an exciting moment in time to be celebrating work and legacy of Leonard Swidler, who has been a champion of keeping spirit of Vatican II alive! Indeed, his work in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue is an outgrowth of Church's engagement with modern world at Vatican II. In light of this convergence, I thought it would be helpful to return to final document of council, Gaudium et spes (The Pastoral Constitution on Church in Modern World), to reflect upon what it has to say and how it speaks to us fifty years after its first appearance. Promulgated at very end of council, Gaudium et spes is perhaps most intriguing and significant of its documents. One of only four constitutions drafted during council, such a treatise was not even part of initial agenda of possible topics and concerns. As bishops consulted with one another, they gradually realized need to look beyond Church itself and theologically to address world or, as they put it, the whole of humanity. As such, it was entirely product of conciliar reflection and debate, and it became symbol of modern Catholicism's desire to be in dialogue with world. It represents better than any other document council's spirit of optimism and dialogue in face of many challenges confronting modern society. Pope John XXIII had set tone in his address at opening of council when he warned against listening to prophets of doom, who are always announcing some ominous event, almost as if end of world were upon us. …