Ecumenical Council Essay

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To cope with a world that is changing drastically, Catholic Church has to ensure its unity and also make faith more relevant to people in contemporary society. Catholic Church responds to the societal, political, spiritual and economical issues and changes through calling an ecumenical council. There have been 21 ecumenical councils. Two of the main councils that were influential are Council of Trent (1545-1563) and Second Vatican Council (1869-1870).

Vatican II brought about a very big change in the Catholic Church. It reshaped the church and liturgy. The council produced many documents that are relevant to the people. One of the main documents was The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). This document discussed the liturgy in detail and the changes that was enacted. Council of Trent was also a very important council in Church’s history. It responded to Protestant Reformation and also started the Counter-Reformation.

The last ecumenical council was held 50 years ago. Many changes have occurred socially, politically, economically and spiritually after that. Despite of these changes, I believe that another ecumenical council should not be held in the next decade.

Second Vatican Council and Council of Trent
There are many similarities evident in both councils. Both councils were called at a time of social, religious and cultural upheaval. Vatican II was called after world war two. There were unresolved issues between countries. It was a great time of difficulty for people including Christians. Christians responded to the war with a desire of peace and unity. In the time period leading up to the Council of Trent, believers were confused about belonging to a religion. They were unsure about whether they ...

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...to motherhood not being part od the church as ordained priests.

According to Vatican II document, Dei verbum the "ordinary and universal magisterium" is exercised by "the Pope in union with the bishops".6 Therefore, any changes to the constitution have to made by the higher authorities. These authorities have stated many times in the past that this change will not happen. Thus the possibility of another council being called is very low as there are not many issues to be addressed by the magisterium like with other councils. Ecumenical councils are only called to address serious issues concerning the church. In today’s contemporary society, where the technology is advancing every year, any issues concerning the magisterium can be discussed straight away by direct communication. I do not think that a council is needed to solve small issues concerning the church.

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