The Vision of Vatican II

The following was shared last night as the opening prayer for the November board meeting of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform.

I must say I find these words of John O’Malley very inspiring and affirming in the reform work that so many Catholics here in the Twin Cities and elsewhere are actively engaged in. They also make me want to read O’Malley’s book What Happened at Vatican II .


The vision of Vatican II moved the Church . . .

from commands to invitations,
from laws to ideals,
from definitions to mystery,
from threats to persuasion,
from coercion to conscience,
from monologue to dialogue,
from ruling to serving,
from withdrawn to integrated,
from vertical to horizontal,
from exclusion to inclusion,
from hostility to friendship,
from rivalry to partnership,
from suspicion to trust,
from static to on-going,
from passive acceptance to active engagement,
from fault finding to appreciation,
from prescriptive to principles,
from behavior modification to inner appropriation.

– John W. O’Malley, S.J.
What Happened at Vatican II
p. 307

Recommended Off-site Links:
Synod of the Baptized Uncovers Deep Well of Hope - Paula Ruddy (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 20, 2010).
The Call of the Baptized: Be the Church, Live the Mission - Paul Lakeland (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 19, 2010).
Trying to Make the Center Hold - Hilmar M. Pabel’s review of What Happened at Vatican II (The Tablet, October 16, 2008).
Momentous Events - Thomas J. Shelley’s review of What Happened at Vatican II (America, November 3, 2008).
New Book Reaffirms Depth of Change Wrought by Vatican II - Peter F. Steinfels (The New York Times, December 19, 2008).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Introducing the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform
Many Voices, One Church
"Something Exciting and Joyous"
Reading the Documents of Vatican II (Part 1)
Reading the Documents of Vatican II (Part 2)
Reading the Documents of Vatican II (Part 3)
Truth About “Spirit of Vatican II” Finally Revealed!
A Church That Can and Cannot Change
A Catholic Understanding of Faithful Dissent (Part 1)
A Catholic Understanding of Faithful Dissent (Part 2)