“The Legacy of Vatican II,” a new series of talks presented by the diocesan office of faith formation, began April 18 at the parish center at St. Agnes Church in Arlington. Inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s latest catechesis on the Second Vatican Council, the series aims to unpack its history and teachings, now 60 years after its conclusion.
Church analyst George Weigel gave a presentation on the history and controversy that led to the Second Vatican Council, noting that the challenges facing the church by the late 1950s began before the world wars: a cultural irreligiosity caused by modern comforts and scientific discoveries.
Weigel explained how from that history and those controversies the council arrived at its teachings, and why perhaps so many were misunderstood. Part of the confusion, he explained, stems from the fact that Vatican II produced no single defining artifact — no creed like the Council of Nicaea, no doctrinal declaration such as the Theotokos proclamation at the Council of Ephesus, and no new code of law as at the Council of Trent. Instead, the council developed four dogmatic constitutions that the church is still interpreting today.
Having spent more than three decades working in Vatican affairs — service recognized with the Papal Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice — Weigel drew on his long, storied career working alongside many bishops, cardinals and more than one pope to help the audience understand the complexities of the council. The session was recorded and will be available on Porta Fidei.
Weigel serves as distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, and as senior Vatican analyst for NBC News. He has written more than 30 books, including the New York Times best-selling, two-volume biography of Pope St. John Paul II, “Witness to Hope” (1999) and “The End and the Beginning” (2010). His book, “To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II,” was available for purchase at the event and remains on sale in the Borgo Catholic Gift Shop at St. Agnes Church.
“The Legacy of Vatican II” series will continue with four more sessions this year, each focusing on one of the four dogmatic constitutions that the council developed, presented by diocesan priests.
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