Tuesday, October 28, 2008

VATICAN II DOCUMENTS STILL RETAIN ALL THEIR RELEVANCE

VATICAN CITY, 28 OCT 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Pope to Fr. Marco Tasca, minister general of the Friars Minor Conventual and chancellor of the St. Bonaventure Pontifical Theological Faculty ("Seraphicum"), for the occasion of an international congress which opened today in Rome. The congress has as its theme: "Vatican Council II in the Pontificate of John Paul II".

  The event has been organised by the St. Bonaventure Theological Faculty and the Institute for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate of John Paul II.

  After recalling how Vatican Council II (1962-1965) was convened by John XXIII, the 50th anniversary of whose election to the Cathedra of Peter falls today, Benedict XVI writes that "the conciliar documents have not lost their relevance with the passing of time; their teachings have shown themselves to be especially pertinent to the new exigencies of the Church and the present globalised society".

  Referring to his predecessor, the Holy Father highlights how John Paul II, "in almost every document he produced, and even more so in his decisions and acts as Pontiff, welcomed the fundamental tenets of Vatican II, thus becoming a qualified interpreter and coherent witness of the Council. His constant concern was to make everyone aware of the advantages that would ensue from welcoming the conciliar vision, not only for the good of the Church, but also for that of civil society and of the people in it".

  "We are all debtors of that extraordinary ecclesial event", writes Benedict XVI. "The vast doctrinal patrimony, which we rediscover in its Dogmatic Constitutions in its Declarations and Decrees, still stimulates us to a deep appraisal of the Word of the Lord in order to apply it to the Church today, bearing in mind the many requirements of the men and women of the modern world, who have an urgent need to know and experience the light of Christian hope".

  The Pope assures participants in the congress that the "Doctor Seraphicus" (St. Bonaventure), "in the richness of his thought, can still offer you valid guidelines with which to approach the conciliar documents in order to seek satisfying answers to the many questions of our time".
MESS/JOHN PAUL II VATICAN II/TASCA            VIS 20081028 (380)


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