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.

During an anniversary ceremony in St Peter’s, Benedict used his homily to talk about freedom and its relationship with evil.

“There emerges in us the suspicion that the person who doesn’t sin at all is basically a boring person, that something is lacking in his life, the dramatic dimension of being autonomous, that the freedom to say ‘no’ belongs to real human beings,” the pontiff said.

In remarks after Mass, Benedict urged people to “overcome the temptation of a mediocre life, made of compromises with evil”.

Vatican Council II was a turning point for the church. The council’s reforms allowed Mass to be celebrated in languages other than Latin, folk songs and guitar-playing were permitted, and priests faced congregations instead of having their back to them.

The council called for efforts to bridge differences between Catholics and other Christians. It also produced a document in which the Catholic Church deplored anti-Semitism and repudiated the “deicide” charge that blamed Jews as a people for Christ’s death.

Some churchmen felt the council’s reforms went too far, especially when embraced by theologians espousing Liberation Theology, which blended the Gospel with Marxist-influenced politics, particularly in Latin America.

Under John Paul II, Ratzinger became guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy and cracked down on Liberation Theology and clergy deemed too liberal in interpreting Council’s legacy.

Yesterday Benedict blessed the Olympic torch, which was making its way to Turin, the site of the Winter Games in February. He also made the traditional December 8 papal visit to the Spanish Steps in Rome.