The second Grand Council is the 21st Grand Council in the history of the Catholic Church. At first, people thought it was the continuation of the first Vatican Council, but later the Catholic Church made it clear that it would be another new Vatican Council, named "The Second Vatican Council".
Up to 2,54 Catholic church leaders attended the Second Vatican Council, at least four of whom later became Pope: Cardinal Giovanni Batista Montigny later became Pope Pope Paul VI; Bishop Albino Luciani later became Pope John Paul Ⅰ; Bishop Carol Vilti Wa later became Pope John Paul II; Joseph Ratzinger later became Pope Benedict XVI.
The second Vatican Council is an ideal meeting in composition among all previous grand councils. The reasons are as follows:
1. The preparation and conduct of the conference are not interfered by the outside world at all, and are entirely initiated by the church;
2. The attendance of imams (nearly 2,2 on average) is unprecedented;
3. For the first time, African-American bishops and Asian bishops attended. Presidium: It consists of ten cardinals. During the first phase of the conference, the ten cardinals took turns to preside over the conference on behalf of the Pope. In the other three issues, they became the "Senate" of the conference and monitored the progress of the conference.
General Assembly Special Affairs Office: examine important new issues raised by various imams, and report to the Pope or give him advice when necessary.
congress court: the court of appeal for administrative issues of the congress, which is used to resolve disputes between the presidents of the congress and between various institutions.
all members: according to the church code, cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, ordained bishops, heads of dioceses and presidents of several religious orders have the right to attend meetings and enjoy the right to vote. In addition, Pope John XXIII invited all the episcopal bishops and gave them the right to vote. Therefore, the number of imams who participated in this grand Council was as high as 2,4 at most.
1 subcommittees and the secretariat of Christian Unity: These 11 units are composed of a chairman and 9 members appointed by the Pope, plus 16 other members elected from the attending imams. They will present the draft to the general assembly and revise or even rewrite it according to the suggestions of the imams.
Theological and legal experts: assist members of various groups to prepare drafts and be ready to explain or report to the General Assembly. They can attend the plenary meeting as nonvoting delegates, but because they are not imams, they can't speak unless invited or asked. At this meeting, the Pope appointed 46 theological and legal experts, including 235 secular clergy and 225 missionaries. The famous theologian K.Rahner is one of them.
Observer: It consists of representatives sent by Orthodox Church, Protestant Church and other non-Catholic groups. Observers may attend plenary meetings or public meetings, but they have no right to speak.
VIP: Invited by the secretariat of Christian Unity, and attending the conference in his own name. VIPs do not represent a church or group, and they have no right to speak.
Observer: It is composed of members who are invited to attend the meeting without voting rights. Only when invited can they speak at the meeting. On June 5, 1959, on Pentecost, the Pope announced the establishment of the Preparatory Committee for the Second Vatican Council, which officially entered the preparatory stage. The composition of the Preparatory Committee is as follows:
First
a central committee;
the second
eleven groups: theology group, parish administration group, disciplining group of priests and parishioners, convent group, sacrament group, etiquette group, education group, Eastern Ritual Group, missionary group, parishioners' life group and Pope's court etiquette group;
the third
three secretariats: journalism secretariat, Christian unity secretariat and general affairs secretariat.
the central Committee, the working group and the secretariat are all composed of a chairman, several members, several expert consultants and many secretaries. The task of the group and the secretariat is to refer to the suggestions of the world's imams and holy ministries, and then study the problem of pope designation. The Central Committee is chaired by the Pope himself or his representative, and its members include cardinals, patriarchs, bishops, priory presidents, group presidents and secretariat presidents, with more than 7 members. The task of the Central Committee is to supervise and cooperate with the work of various groups and secretariats, report the results to the Pope, and be responsible for drafting the proceedings of future congresses.
On November 14th, 196, the Pope presided over the opening ceremony of the preparatory meeting, announcing the focus of this session of the Grand Council: "Not only to emphasize a certain doctrine or discipline according to revelation and tradition, but also to revive the true spirit of Christ and strengthen the value and glory of Christian life." After the ceremony, all departments began to work. From June 1961 to June 1962, the Central Committee * * * held seven meetings, held 55 meetings, reviewed 72 proposals, and made preparations for formal meetings.
At the end of the preparatory stage, the Pope appealed to all his parishioners to pray for the conference through encyclical and broadcast, and appointed St. Joseph the Great as the mediator of the conference in heaven. In addition, the staff also painted and decorated St. Peter's Hall. The conference venue is located in St. Peter's Hall. The procedure of the second Vatican Council is divided into public meeting, plenary meeting and Subcommittee meeting.
The public meeting, attended by the Pope and all the imams, is the most solemn one in the conference, and politicians and heads from other countries are also welcome to attend. At the second Vatican Council, there were 1 public meetings: the opening ceremony of the first to fourth issues, the closing ceremony of the second, third and fourth issues and the ceremony of the General Assembly issuing different resolutions during the fourth issue (October 28, November 18 and December 7, 1962). Of the 16 resolutions of the second Vatican Council, five were promulgated at the closing ceremonies of the second and third issues. The remaining 11 items were promulgated at the above three ceremonies in the fourth issue. When a resolution is promulgated, the General Assembly will vote on it, and only a resolution with two-thirds of all the affirmative votes can be adopted. After the resolution is passed, the Pope and the imams will sign it. The main function of the plenary session is to discuss and vote on various draft resolutions. The conference * * * held 168 plenary meetings. Imams will first study whether a draft resolution can be used as a basis for discussion. If most imams think it can't, then the draft will be returned to the relevant group for revision or rewriting. On the contrary, if possible, the deans will express their opinions on the draft in written or oral form, and the group will revise the draft according to the opinions of the deans. Finally, the General Assembly voted on the revised draft for three times. In the first vote, the imams can vote for, against or conditionally in favor. Then the group will make the final revision of the draft. On the second vote, the clerics can only vote for or against it. Finally, after each chapter in the draft has been voted, the General Assembly will vote on the whole draft, thus completing the procedure of examining the draft resolution. Subcommittee meetings are meetings held among members of the group. At the meeting, the Subcommittee and the experts and consultants of the conference are responsible for drafting or amending the draft resolutions of the conference. (October 11th, 1962-December 8th)
At 8: 3am on October 11th, 1962, the opening ceremony of this congress was held in St. Peter's Square. More than 2,4 bishops attended the opening ceremony, as well as the Italian President and many heads of state. At the opening ceremony, the Pope pointed out that the task of the Grand Council is: "to make the church innovate itself and promote the unity among Christians in order to preach the gospel to mankind more effectively." After the opening of the conference, the members of each group are elected first. On behalf of all the imams, the French Episcopal College drafted the Book of the General Assembly to all mankind, expressing the sincerity of caring for and serving all mankind. And put forward two issues of special concern to the General Assembly: international peace and social justice.
then, the general assembly entered the stage of considering the draft. The first discussion is the Draft Etiquette. Among them, the more controversial topics include: (1) language in etiquette; (2) How to adapt etiquette to the needs of different regional cultures; (3) The functions and powers of the local bishops' college on etiquette. Finally, the General Assembly adopted the preface and chapter 1 of this draft. In the first session, the Congress also discussed the Draft Source of Revelation, the Draft Mass Communication Tools, the Draft Unification of Oriental Rites and the Draft Church. Because most imams were dissatisfied with the Draft Source of Revelation, the Pope instructed that the draft be returned to the relevant group for rewriting. The "Draft Mass Communication Tools", however, was requested by the General Assembly to be shortened into several principles and a pastoral sermon. As for the Draft of the Unity of Eastern Rites, the General Assembly hopes that it can be merged with another draft of the Christian Unity Group and the chapter on patriarchy in the Church Draft into one draft. With regard to the Church Draft, due to time constraints, only a preliminary discussion was held, and it was too late to draw any conclusions. The first session of the second Vatican Council closed on December 8, 1962.
Before the end of the first session, the Pope announced that more than 7 drafts would be reduced to 2 (and then reduced to 17) to speed up the conference. It is also necessary to set up a coordinating committee to supervise the work of various groups and ensure that their drafts do not conflict with each other. These are the main tasks during the recess of the General Assembly.
On June 3rd, 1962, Pope John XXIII died of illness at the age of 82. On June 21st, 1962, the former Cardinal Giovanni Batista Montigny was elected to succeed Pope Pope Paul VI. The day after his election, the new Pope announced that he would continue to hold the Grand Council. Later, the new pope adjusted the structure of the conference: an inspector group composed of four cardinals was added to preside over the plenary session; And replaced the original "General Assembly Special Affairs Office" with the newly established "Coordination Committee". (September 29th to December 4th, 1963)
On September 29th, 1963, the second session of the Grand Council was opened. The Protestant Zongbaolu VI pointed out that the goal of the congress was:
to understand the church itself, especially the position of bishops and the relationship between bishops and the Pope. The reform of the church. The unity of Christian churches. The church faces the modern world.
The Pope also pointed out: "If the Catholic Church should be responsible for the division of the church in the past, then the Catholic Church will humbly appeal to God for forgiveness. If the Catholic Church has sinned against other non-Catholic brothers, then the Catholic Church will also ask them for forgiveness. On the other hand, the Catholic Church will sincerely forgive all those who have sinned against Catholicism. "
after the opening ceremony, the work of examining the draft began immediately. The following are the highlights of the second session:
Discuss the Church Draft, including: discussing the church as an Olympic relic; On the people of God; On the holy organization of the church, especially on bishops; On laymen; On the obligation of sanctification in the church.
Among them, the more important topics include the relationship between the church and non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians, the relationship between the Pope and the world bishops' college, the restoration of deacons, and the laymen becoming ordinary priests. After discussion, the imams accepted: "The post of bishop is inherited from the Apostolic Troupe, and when the World Episcopal College is with the Pope, it has the highest jurisdiction and discipline over the church;" But this does not weaken the position of the Pope's primacy. " In addition, through voting, the General Assembly incorporated the Notre Dame Draft into the Church Draft.
discuss the draft of parish administration, including: on the relationship between bishops and holy departments; On assistant bishops and assistant bishops: On the National Conference of Bishops: On the division of parishes and teaching provinces: On the division of the church and the teaching province. Discuss the Draft of Dagong Doctrine, including: On the principles of Catholic Dagong Doctrine; On the implementation of Dagongism: On Christians separated from Catholicism: On the attitude of Catholicism towards non-Christians, especially Jews; On freedom of belief.
Because the imams couldn't agree on Chapters 4 and 5, the conference only accepted Chapters 1 to 3 as the basis for discussion. When it comes to the principle of patriarchy, the draft congress points out: "Catholicism itself needs to admit its mistakes and repent, and attach importance to the truth, sanctification and gospel value of separating brothers."
During the second session, the General Assembly also voted on the remaining chapters of the Draft Etiquette and the Draft Mass Communication Tools. These two drafts were discussed at the first session.
On December 4, 1963, the General Assembly held the closing ceremony of the second session. At the closing ceremony, after voting, the Pope solemnly promulgated the resolutions "Charter of Etiquette" and "Act on Mass Media". When promulgating resolutions, the Pope used a brand-new term: "The Pope, together with bishops, approves, stipulates and orders these bills and announces collective decisions." Thus, the Pope is no longer acting alone, but using his presidency to announce the unanimous decision with bishops all over the world.
During the recess of the second session, the Pope made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he met the patriarch of the Orthodox Church. During the meeting, the two imams gave gifts to each other, and read the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John together, praying that the believers would become one. This meeting fully shows that the goal of the Pope's convening the grand Council is: "to reform the church and to yearn for the unity with the separation of brothers." (from September 14th to November 21st, 1964)
On September 14th, 1964, the third session of the General Assembly was opened. The Pope and imams from 19 countries held ceremonies around the altar, which was the initial achievement of etiquette reform. In his opening speech, the Pope particularly emphasized that the relationship between the Pope's presidency and the world episcopal college is not only not in conflict, but also interdependent. In the third session, the number of observers increased greatly, including 7 female laymen, 21 male laymen and 8 nuns.
The following are the highlights of the third session:
Continue to discuss the Church Draft, that is, review the two chapters: "the eschatology of the church" and "On the Virgin Mary". In the chapter on Notre Dame, the draft does not mention "Notre Dame is the mother of the church", but retains the title of "protector among pets". It is clearly stated in the draft: "Christ is the only mediator between God and mankind, and the role of the virgin mediator is completely subordinate to Christ." This has caused a heated debate among the imams. This paper discusses the Draft of Bishop's Pastoral Duty in the Church, which is a new draft formed after the revision of the Draft of Bishop and Parish Administration in the second session. This draft has three chapters, namely: Bishop and Universal Church; Bishop and parish; And the relationship between the bishop and various organizations outside his parish.
As a result of the discussion, the bishops realized that they must change their way of life, abandon their previous ostentation and bureaucracy, and change into a simple and simple life, taking Christ as an example.
Discuss the Draft of Freedom of Belief: This was originally a chapter in the Draft of Dagong. This is an urgent issue, because many people criticize the Catholic Church for demanding freedom of belief in countries where the Catholic Church is not dominant, but resisting freedom of belief in countries where the Catholic Church is dominant. The understanding after the discussion is: "The General Assembly recognizes that there should be freedom of belief, but it should not fall into religious agnosticism or bystanderism. The General Assembly recognizes that truth should be accepted by all, but at the same time respects what everyone's subjective conscience indicates, because this is the latest criterion for good and evil behavior." Discuss the Draft of Judaism and Non-Christian Religion: This was originally a chapter in the Draft of Dagong. When discussing this draft, the imams unanimously requested to delete the charge of accusing the Jews of killing the Lord Jesus Christ, and some imams requested to be included in this draft.