The Question of Faith in the World

Abstract

When reflecting on Pope Paul VI’s opening remarks at the council’s second session, Ratzinger noted with satisfaction: “You had to hear it to fully appreciate how movingly it integrated theological considerations with personal spiritual testimony. The accents can, of course, be variously placed. What most impressed me was how Christ-centric it was.”¹ In marked contrast, he noted that accommodating the contemporary culture seemed to be the single most important characteristic of the council in the eyes of the majority of observers. They often seemed to perceive the council through the filters of the terms “progressive” and “conservative” rather than to behold “the inner aspects, the spiritual profile of the Church” and recognize that the Christ-filled reality of the Church transcends such clichés. All renewal is measured against Christ, to whom scripture is witness.² To understand the council’s most central concern, one should turn to Gaudium et Spes (GS) 22, as both John Paul II and Ratzinger emphasized at the 1985 Bishops’ Synod: “Christ the Lord, Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling.” It is a quote that could have been taken directly from de Lubac’s magisterial Catholicism, which discussed the liberating nature of Catholic dogma. The new Adam, Jesus Christ, transforms people into actuating their personhood, which they have by virtue of their being created in the image and likeness of Christ.