In summoning the Second Vatican Council in October 1962, Pope John XXIII sought aggiornamento—that the Roman Catholic Church be brought up to date to adapt to the conditions of the contemporary world, that the windows be opened to let in a draught of fresh air to a medieval and monarchical institution. By the conclusion of the Council in December 1965, four constitutions, nine decrees and three declarations had thoroughly scrutinized every aspect of church life and transformed the Catholic Church. While the fundamentals of faith remained immutable, their adaptation to, and presentation in, the modern world, crucially, did not. During the Council the Irish ambassador to the Holy See memorably described the attitude of the Irish hierarchy towards the foremost religious event of the twentieth century as the ‘reverse of exuberant’. Many commentators since have highlighted the limited bearing of the Council on Ireland. It is apposite that on the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Council, Ireland & Vatican II assesses not just its legacy on Ireland but attempts ‘the more elemental task of identifying the key dimensions of the Council’s vision and their significance now and into the future’ (p. 2).
Intended for the general reader, the twenty-two contributions by educationalists, academics, priests, and Christians of other traditions, are divided into three sections: retrospectives (seven chapters); theological, pastoral and social (ten chapters); and catholic education (five chapters). The articles vary in length and character. Some focus on conciliar documents and teachings, whereas others offer a more personal perspective on the implications of the council. Nuala O’Loan recalled how as a 13-year-old she was excited by the momentous changes in language, liturgy and clerical dress (p. 34). The debates occasioned by the council are affectingly portrayed by Paul Andrews SJ, ordained before the council, for whom there was ‘a new set of heroes’ such as Courtney Murray and Karl Rahner and ‘a new set of ogres’, among them Ottaviani and Ruffini, deemed to be ‘backsliding from the Council’s positions’ (p. 63).
A number of themes emerge across the collection as a whole. The first is a concern with the contemporary Irish Church. In an insightful and unflinching essay, Oliver Rafferty charts the decline of institutional Catholicism from a position of exaltation to one ‘where it is reviled’ (p. 13) and concludes that the Council failed to renew Irish Catholicism. This theme is also the subject of Eugene Duffy’s impressive essay ‘Reimagining the Church in Ireland in the light of Vatican II’. He contends that the current crisis presents an opportunity for ‘the vision of the church proposed by Vatican II’ to become ‘a lived reality’ (p. 127) if co-responsibility and synodality are embraced. A second leitmotif is disappointment that—liturgical change aside, and even here, as Edward McGee argues, there needs to be stronger participative engagement)—the influence of the council on Ireland was quite limited and for too long delayed. However, many of the contributors draw hope from the bold leadership of Pope Francis and a greater delegation of national episcopal responsibility. Third, the theologically impoverished nature of Irish Catholicism and the absence of an active lay Catholic culture features in a number of articles. Irish Catholics prioritized ‘doing’ faith at the expense of ‘necessary reflection and enquiry’ (p. 3). But lay activism has increased in novel ways since the Council. Juanita Murphy charts the development of new religious movements in Ireland such as Focolare, L’Arche and Neocatechumenal which overcame initial suspicion to become an integral part of the mission of the Church. Fourth, the Council’s emphasis on the poor and the liberation theology which it inspired are discussed in a number of chapters. Although interesting, one wonders if they belong in this collection as their focus is not on Ireland. A range of other subjects such as Mariology, catechesis, female religious, human rights and the media are also addressed. The last mentioned deserves comment. Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic, traces the distrustful relationship between the hierarchy and the media, and the absence of a coherent media strategy by church leaders. He suggests that a more decentralized approach with media resources deployed at parish and diocesan levels would be more effective than the current practice of a national office (p. 151).
Ecumenical endeavour is the subject of insightful contributions from Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian perspectives. Pope John XXIII coined the phrased ‘brothers in Christ’ to refer to Christians not then in communion with the Catholic Church. This phrase signalled a decisive change of Vatican mentality. For Richard Clarke, Church of Ireland archbishop of Armagh, ‘the Council indeed opened ecumenical windows—both practically and doctrinally’ (p. 45). In a powerful chapter, Gerry Reynolds, a Redemptorist priest, recalled his ministry in Belfast with the Clonard Peace and Reconciliation Mission during the Northern Ireland Troubles. For him ecumenical endeavour had ‘no agenda other than to respond to the prayer of Jesus “that all may be one”. Through our unity as pilgrims … We show to our Protestant brothers and sisters that generosity of esteem which alone builds trust and mutual acceptance’ (p. 81). Patrick Mitchel considers the influence of the Council on Protestant Churches in Ireland. While not minimizing doctrinal differences, he suggests that the denominational rivalries of the past have become anachronistic and that there is ‘fertile ground to be dug by both Catholics and Protestants around themes of gospel, scripture, the necessity of personal faith and remission of a post-Christendom culture’ (p. 181). Inter-faith dialogue is also addressed by Niall Coll.
The last section of the volume is devoted to education. Historically, control of education was regarded as essential if Catholic faith and values were to be transmitted to future generations. This has become a contested space given the growing demand by parents and the state for a plurality of models of provision and a school system better aligned with the needs of a more diverse population. In one of the strongest chapters in the collection, Eamonn Conway skilfully traces the educational vision proposed by Gravissimum Educationis (1965) and the current reality of creeping managerialism and utilitarianism in education. He suggests that Catholic schools and colleges ‘should be more confident in the distinctiveness of what they have to offer’ and more resilient ‘in insisting upon their unique place in the educational landscape, as an essential part of the church’s service to the world’ (p. 270).
In 1986 Seán Freyne, theologian and biblical scholar, suggested that the Second Vatican Council had made little impact on Irish Catholicism because the questions it sought to grapple with had never been seriously posed in Ireland. Ireland & Vatican II explains why. Furthermore, this thought-provoking collection asks what form an aggiornamento of Irish Catholicism should take.
