Pope marks Vatican Council II anniversary

POPE BENEDICT XVI decried what he called the mistaken idea that leading a virtuous life was “boring” as he marked yesterday’s 40th anniversary of the end of Vatican Council II, which sparked modernising reforms in the 2,000-year-old Roman Catholic Church.

Among those eager participants at the 1962-1965 council who later questioned whether its legacy was too loosely interpreted was a young German theologian, Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict.

He praised his predecessors in the papacy for guiding the Church “on the route of authentic council (inspired) renewal, working ceaselessly for the faithful interpretation and implementation” of the council.