Recently there was a book published entitled “ Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism” In a review of the same, the author’s ideas regarding the Second Vatican Council were expressed as follows: “The most important change took place within the Catholic Church at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Noll and Nystrom (the authors) identify four key developments there: The council referred to non-catholics as ‘brothers’, encouraged lay Catholic piety, emphasized Christ’s unique role as mediator, and accepted limited blame for inciting the Reformation”(Review by Colin Hansen) .
The review reminded me that I had what might be called ‘historical’ documents, namely copies of letters written by my brother Bishop Frank to our Dad while attending the Second Vatican Council. The pages total 143 with a letter usually to each page. They cover the time he was in Rome participating with 2300 others in the council from October 1962 till December 1962 and then each year for approximately the same time period till December 1965. They contain personal notes to Dad and others but always included a report on what action, if any was being taken and how the votes were going. I had read them all some years ago when I first received them from my nephew Jim Allen.
Before re-reading them I thought I should look into a report by someone else as to the Council. I went into the St.Petersburg Library records and was referred to one book entitled, “Pope, Council, And World: The Story of Vatican II” by Robert Blair Kaiser. The book was written in 1963. The short blurb about the author reads, “Robert Blair Kaiser, an experienced journalist, is now Time’s Rome correspondent. He earned the 1963 Overseas Press Club’s award for the best magazine reporting on foreign affairs for his reports on Vatican II. He is the first Time “staffer” to receive this award. ..” My reason for including this is that in a letter dated November 11, 1963, Frank writes: “Last evening after visiting the sick one GFB and Bill Sheehan OMI who came in yesterday as a Portuguese expert in Catechism… I went over to Bob Kaiser’s house. Bob is the Time correspondent for Rome and has written a book on the Council, which I enjoyed very much. Every Sunday night is ‘open house’ at his home (and) for many Sunday nights we have been thinking of trying to get over there, but to no avail until last evening. There you can find every hue of clerical, liberal, bishops and priest. An interesting gathering to be sure but one that puts a label on your thinking…your friend Archbishop Roberts lives with Bob during the days of the Council…”(Italic added) The coincidence amazed me. But as I read on in the letters there were often references to many other “names” in the news that he meets or dines with or with whom he chats.
His letters are full of ‘thank you’s’. Some general to his Dad and Mom for the gift of life and an encouraging a priestly vocation; or regarding specific gifts received via his Dad and others. He would also include some observation or report on the Council activity. He would constantly tell Dad about meeting other clerics who had asked for him, though some he noted had met Dad only on one occasion. He remembered anniversaries of death, marriages and birthdays and passed on his thoughts on them.
I had the pleasure in 1948 of traveling with him as he proceeded back to his mission, then in Cotabato, P.I., via Europe and in particular Rome. He had remained in the Philippines after his incarceration in the concentration camp of the Japanese in Manila for three years. As we drove away from our summer home in Sea Isle City, New Jersey waving to Mom on the porch, tears filled up his eyes. I asked him why and he explained that he felt certain he would never see Mom again – and he didn’t. Mother died in November 1952. She had had a mild heart attack in 1948, the same year she had been proclaimed the “Catholic Mother of Year in America”. Thus Frank in these letters often recalls his Mother and her loving but thoughtful care of him – her first born.
He was pleased with the idea of a Council, but was like many, skeptical of any great changes. He had hoped for particularly changes in the manner in which Rome handled Missions. He was pleased with the talk of more laity participation and the demystifying of the rite of the Mass. On that point, he believed the use of the vernacular in the Mass was a good idea, but lamented a bit the fact that Latin as the universal language of the church would suffer and communication made more difficult. We had an example of this universality on our trip in 1948. We had ridden all night from Spain along the Riviera through Monaco to Genoa, Italy. It was somewhere around 6 AM when we left the train in Genoa to look for a church where Frank could celebrate Mass. We found one but neither of us spoke Italian but Frank’s use of Latin with the priest allowed us to communicate. He did thus celebrate a Mass there in Genoa.
Another issue he spoke of with agreement was the doctrine of “collegiality” of the bishops. Collegiality is defined “the bishops and the successor to Peter form together in solidarity the main organization for the guidance and sanctification of the church” (The Vatican Council And Christian Unity, p. 223) The concept put authority in the bishops and Pope and not in the Curia. It is this idea that Frank agreed with.
He regretted the cursory treatment of the Missions. He even submitted a paper on the matter but was never given the chance to read to the assemblage. He noted in a letter of October 13,1964, “We are finally going to get a day of discussing the Missions, from the looks of things it will be a truncated proposition which will restate old principles and leave the working out of such administrators of the Propagation field. I am prepared myself to speak but it maybe that it will be treated so briefly my talk will be handed in. As I think I told you I will speak, if possible, on the manner of support the missions and not leaving it to the wares and charms or lack of such of each missionary bishop.” (Italic added) He during his three years in Rome hopped about to Munich, Cairo, and elsewhere to seek more aid and help for his mission in Jolo. In the 60’s I lead a yearly money-raising affair each year in Philly where he would sometimes be able to attend but not often. He would be spending his three or four months back in the States travelling all over to raise money by collection and the like.
Frank followed with much interest the ‘schema’ or proposal to re-instate the deaconate. On October 8, 1963 the American Bishops met and the only question for discussion was the “return of permanent diaconate”. They were in general agreement for it, but Frank was skeptical about it actually occurring. He described it as something that “appears to be purely a hypothetical futuristic nothing”. On October 15 of the same year debate on the issue was halted but however on October 31, Frank reports, the Council voted for a ‘renewal’. It ultimately passed in September of 1964 with it then up to the Pope as to when it would go into effect.
Frank would be happy to know that ultimately it went into effect in the United State. In May 1994 a member of the clan, my son-in-law Thomas Baker was ordained a Deacon and has been serving since. He also wrote a short pamphlet entitle “Deacon” as part of a series entitled “I Like Being In Parish Ministry”. Tom is married to my oldest daughter Suzanne and they have three girls.
It appears, as best I could calculate from Tom’s book, that it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the permanent deaconate was put into practice in U.S.
At the end of the first session in December 1962 Frank commented that “in fifty years there will be notable differences from now. Neither you nor I need be concern ourselves about such time”. So now some forty years plus after that first session we have a Wheaton College historian Mark Noll and a freelance writer Carolyn Nostrum, writing an assessment of the changes. It includes a recounting of the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed by the Lutheran World Federation and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church in 1999. This has and continues to have other effects like the “Evangelicals and Catholics Together”. So Frank’s “prediction” or hope for response seems to becoming to life. Until next time, Pax Tecum !