What led the robe-clad nuns of the fifties to come to resemble the women’s libbers of the seventies? When did the priests become ‘presiders’ and jump into secular garb, instead of wearing the Roman collar as a badge of honor? Ever hear of a document on religious freedom? It was about the right for an individual to make an act of faith. Nowhere was it written an individual could make up his own rules about right or wrong in the name of conscience, nor did it give error rights!
In Vatican II: Renewal or Rupture, we feature these scintillating offerings:
The Truth Shall Make You Free, Frank Morriss
Vatican II and the Priesthood, William Marshner
Religious Life: Forsaking All Others or Forsaking Christ, Laurene Connor
Humanae Vitae: The Completion of the Council, Charles E. Rice
and much more…
Interested? Get your subscriptions now. Our subscriptions run for one year. That means all issues of 2013 will be yours for a mere $25 and that doesn’t even cover postage (did I say donations welcome?).
From the Back Cover:
Out of the Depths
The abandonment felt by the laity after the misinterpretations of Vatican II became widespread was intense. Priests, Sisters, schools, colleges, friends, were all on some tangent that seemed hell-bent on destroying the Catholic Church rather than strengthening it. By the fruits you will know them, as the saying goes, and it seemed as though the apple of Eve had truly poisoned those charged with leading the flock. And the flock, like those with itching ears for new things, followed right along.
Like islands in an ocean of dissent, the few–laity, priests and religious–determined to keep the faith read what they could, a difficult task when bookstores stocked more Hans Kung than papal encyclicals; spoke up for the truth when given the opportunity, and prayed for deliverance.
God’s time is not our time. It took awhile. It took a Pope who kept the pressure on the dissidents, one who held the true vision of what the Council meant. It took priests who challenged the nonsense in the seminaries and Sisters who were bold enough to found new religious orders faithful to their consecration. And it took laity to hold tightly to the promise of Christ that the gates of Hell would not prevail.
Renewal or Rupture?
Perhaps there needed to be a rupture for the renewal to occur, to clean out the debris, the dead matter that the Council made visible. The Church could not move forward until those who would not serve finally revealed themselves and over time lost their power over the faithful.
It isn’t over yet. There is still work to be done. Positive action must be taken by all of us to live the faith with truth and holiness called for by the Second Vatican Council. The documents must be read and lived with the mind of the Church to truly renew our age.
It is to provide understanding of the Second Vatican Council that the Bellarmine Forum magazine has committed its four issues in this Year of Faith.
The Bellarmine Forum, formerly known as the Wanderer Forum Foundation, was founded in 1965 to promote and defend true Catholic teachings and educate Catholics in their Faith. Its national and regional conferences and published materials represent some of the finest Catholic thought in the last 30 years. Operating under the patronage of the great Jesuit, St. Robert Bellarmine, will only serve to focus its efforts in the service of the Church.
This article, Magazine — Vatican II: Renewal or Rupture? is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/magazine-vatican-ii-renewal-or-rupture/
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