Fr Arockia Rayappan –
Some more of our own Christ’s faithful have spared their valuable time to share their perspectives with the readers of the Indian Catholic Matters on the invitation of our Beloved Pope Francis to study the fundamentalistic themes of the documents of the Second Vatican Council in preparation for Jubilee 2025.
Father Dr. Kuruvilla Pandikattu, S.J., is an author and a Chair Professor of JRD Tata Foundation on Business Ethics at XLRI, Jamshedpur, (India), Professor of the Faculty of Philosophy at Jnana Deepa – Institute of Philosophy and Theology, and formator of major seminarians at the Papal Seminary, Pune (India). He is a research scholar in science, religion, and philosophy:
“The (Second) Vatican Council, in general, has been fresh air for all the Catholics, in terms of openness to the world, to other religions, and to the ordinary people. In a real way, it made the liberating and humanizing message of Christ alive for our contemporary context. Through the sixteen documents (of the Second Vatican Council), it tries to reach out to ordinary Catholics and people of God, so that the Church can truly identify with the aspirations of the people of the world. “The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 1). So, we identify ourselves with the best and the worst in the world and together try to transform it for the better. May we who celebrate the Holy Year (2025) learn to cherish the fresh air brought in by Vatican II and make the joyful and hope-filled message of Christ concrete for our times!”
Richard Bernier Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University. His teaching and research focus has been on Systematic and Contextual Theology, Christian Spirituality, and Philosophical Theology. He completed his Ph.D. at McGill University, MA in Theology at Concordia University, and MDiv. at the Pontifical Lateran University:
“Holy Years are often opportunities for activities that are a bit memorable and out-of-the-ordinary to be planned in the local churches. The Pope’s announcement of a Holy Year 2025 includes provisions for special events in dioceses around the world and features unveilings of various logos and resources we have come to expect from these kinds of announcements. What is most interesting to me, however, is the Pope’s promotion of a return to the documents of Vatican II. We have seen many events and encyclicals and canonical rulings over the last sixty years since Vatican II, and we can forget how little the Church has really integrated some of the calls of the Council. We forget that Vatican II was a welcome surprise in the life of a Church humbled by the horrors of the Second World War, challenged by a rapidly changing world, encouraged by signs of a Catholic intellectual and pastoral renewal, and eager to rediscover its mission to all people. Rather than moving on from Vatican II as if it were a mere historical fact, Pope Francis is rightly encouraging Catholics to form their faith by spending time with these still-vital and pertinent conclusions of the Council. Pax et bonum!”
Lucian Turcescu Ph.D. is a Full Professor, Graduate Program Director as well as past Chair of the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University. He sits on the Board of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism. He also sat on the Board of the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion and served as the Corporation’s combined program director. He regularly serves as an Expert Witness in court cases of asylum and deportation, especially connected with religious persecution, discrimination, and human rights in Romania:
“I think the Pope’s initiative is a great one to have this jubilee every 25 years. I remember the last one, in 2000, made a big difference for both Catholics and non-Catholics around the world. It is a great initiative connecting Vatican II with current issues in today’s world. While taking its inspiration from the documents of Vatican II, the Jubilee aims to make those documents and their ideas relevant to today’s Catholics and (hopefully) non-Catholics alike. Vatican II was highly relevant and eye-opening at a time when the world was undergoing many transformations. The Catholic Church tried to update itself at the time, to open itself to other religions and embrace the world. Many people have thought Vatican II didn’t go far enough, while others that it has gone too far. But each council has gone through a process of reception which is still ongoing. Only time will tell if the teachings of Vatican II will be well received in the future.”
Julian Sieber is pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christianity at Loyola University Chicago. He is interested in literary and historical-critical biblical interpretation, and reception history of the Bible, particularly the variety of Catholic receptions. He holds a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and is from Perth, Western Australia:
“As a doctoral student studying the New Testament, Dei Verbum – the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation -fascinates me. It has been foundational to the way I think about the Bible and its relationship with the life of the Church, but I also believe Dei Verbum contains significant unexplored potential. The difficult questions of how exactly to interpret Scripture are still with us today, and Dei Verbum encourages us to use historical and literary study together with tradition, synodality, and prayer, in order to continue to grow in mature judgement as a Church (DV 12). Indeed, ‘mature’ interpretation of Scripture is a great term for my goal as both a student of the New Testament and a lay Catholic. By returning to this short but potent Constitution, we can aim for the original goal stated in Dei Verbum itself—that all who encounter Scripture would “hear the summons to salvation, so that through hearing it may believe, through belief it may hope, through hope it may come to love” (DV 1). Dei Verbum is a resource I return to often, and I look forward to the Church as a whole accepting the invitation by Pope Francis to do the same.”
Being enriched by the wisdom and renewal of the Spirit and by investing the resources available to study the documents of the Second Vatican Council now, may all of us, you and me, “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer” (Romans 12.12) as we await the celebrations of Jubilee 2025! As we meditate on the richness of the Conciliar Spirit, “May the Almighty and Merciful God make us firm in faith, joyful in hope, and active in charity” (adapted from the Solemn Blessing during the Advent Season Eucharist).
Arockia Rayappan is a priest of Delhi Archdiocese and a Ph.D. student at Concordia University, Canada. His doctoral research explores practical, resourceful, and sustainable ways to foster social and religious harmony through Basic Ecclesial Communities in the contemporary Indian multi-cultural, pluri-religious, social, economic, and political milieu. He dedicates the articles on Vatican II and Jubilee 2025 to the friends, teachers, professors, formators and spiritual guides at College Platon, Jnana Deepa – Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Papal Seminary, Vishwa Jyoti Gurukul, Vinay Gurukul, Saint Jude Thaddeus’ School, to the victims of the Covid-pandemic, particularly to the late Fr. Isaac who died on April 30, 2021 , during the first wave of Covid-19. The author’s contributions have been published in Indian Catholic Matters, The New Leader, The Voice of Delhi, Dilli Vaani, JDV Times, The Indian Currents, The Herald, The Examiner, News and Views, Ishvani, Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection – VJRT, (Vidyajyoti College, Delhi), The Tablet (Brooklyn, USA), Golden Key – GKA, (Atlanta, USA), and Journal of the Council for Research on Religion – JCREOR, (School of Religious Studies, McGill University, Canada).