Record PERTH, WA: May 11, 1995
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Tiptoe-ing on delicate ground in his praises
NT, ITALY (CNS) - In praising ing here and there in these past decades, loss of Catholic identity." Ti ttE he Council of Trent and the Second of the great event," he said. There are "circles propagandizing Vatican Council in the same speech, This evaluation tried to see Pope John Paul II tiptoed on delicate ground. At the 450th anniversary commemoration of the famous council he tried to calm fears of some that the teachings of Trent were no longer valid in an ecumenical age, being superseded by Vatican II. Trent "traced the great paths of the church for successive centuries" and its teachings retain their value, he said. One of those who were worried prior to the pope's speech was Archbishop Sartori of Trent who said the anniversary was useful "to put back into perspective the absurd historical evaluation, flourish-
Vatican II "not as a development, but directly as a cancellation of the great doctrinal and spiritual patrimony realized at Trent." Both councils are "strictly connected to each other, even if celebrated at a distance of four centuries," he said. The documents of Vatican II cite Trent more than any other ecumenical council, the archbishop said. Trent's work must be "read in the light of the successive councils of Vatican I and Vatican II," said the archbishop. Walter Brandmuller, theology professor at the University of Augsburg, Germany said "the sacrifice of the Council of Trent to ecumenism" could mean "the
about saying goodbye to Trent," Brandmuller said. "Everything that has been defined by an ecumenical council becomes part of the deposit of faith, and, therefore, irreversible," said Brandmuller. The pope, while praising Trent, said the church must now take inspiration from the rebirth of Catholicism spawned by Trent to apply faithfully Vatican's ll's teachings to today's problems. Regarding ecumenism, the contemporary task is to examine Trent's teachings with Protestants and come to a deeper understanding of those teachings, thus opening the door to Christian unity, he said.
Catholic Church rightly condemned aspects of Protestant Reformation in 16th century but today's goal different NT, ITALY (CNS) - The Catholic Church in the 16th l i century rightly condemned
aspects of the Protestant Reformation, but today's task is to push for Christian unity, said Pope John Paul II. Today's guide must be the ecumenical spirit of Vatican II, he said. In commemorating the Council of Trent, which issued the condemnations, the pope expressed hope that significant progress toward unity is made by the year 2000. The pope marked the 450th anniversary of the start of the council in Trent's St. Vigilius Cathedral, where most of the council sessions took place. Behind the pope was the huge cathedral crucifix. Local tradition says the Christ on the cross nodded its head in assent when the council decrees were approved at the final session. The Council of Trent was held from 1545 to 1563. Its main purposes were to heal the rifts caused by the Reformation and to internally reform the Catholic C hurch, since abuses and immorality within Catholicism were key issues in the formation of Protestantism. By the time the often-postponed council finally started, however, the rifts were too deep, and the council ended up crystallizing the doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants, leaving wide gaps that still need to be narrowed. "The dogmatic affirmations of the Council of Trent naturally preserve all their value," the pope said.
condemnations issued by both sides. In 1986, the study groups recommended steps by which the mutual condemnations could be declared no longer operative. The pope noted that the Council of Trent had left the door open to future unity, despite its condemnations. "Not wanting to compromise the future prospects of reunification, the council fathers avoided condemning specific people," as this would have "further sharpened the polemic," he said. Much of the pope's Trent speech was praise of the council as "a great event in the history of the church" which still influences today's Catholics such as the council's doctrinal definitions of the seven sacraments, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the role of grace and good works in salvation. He also emphasized its institutional reforms, such as requiring bishops to reside in their dioceses and establishing Joking in the rain seminaries." - see Page 7 At the same time, he said that Vatican II sets the guidelines for today's church. Today's challenge is to seek menical passion, to historical The Council of Trent was a with Protestants a deeper and theological investigations" response to the problems of its understanding of the council's aimed at "full visibility of all era and brought a rebirth of teachings, "rendering the very Christians," he said. church life, the pope said. misunderstandings of the past The pope noted his own "Faithful application of the the occasions for a growth in efforts to foster dialogue with teachings of the Second Vatifaith and love," he said. Protestants such as the 1980 for- can Council will allow us to "I add my encouragement to mation of a joint Catholic- offer an adequate response to all those who dedicate them- Lutheran study group to exam- the emerging problems of our the 16th-century epoch," he said. selves, with sacrifice and ecu- ine
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