Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, published an editorial yesterday marking the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
“In the decades following Vatican II, its effects have been the subject of ideological debate and controversy—many of them still unresolved—between those who blame the Council for the Church’s crisis and for dechristianization, and those who believe the answer lies in adapting to the world,” Tornielli wrote.
A central insight of the Council, he added, is that “the Church does not shine with its own light; it does not radiate a light of its own; it is not the source of the proclamation. The Church can only seek to be transparent—allowing the light of Christ to pass through and shimmer.”