Reformation and Restoration in the Catholic Church: From Vatican II to Modern Times

Change is inevitable, especially when it comes to religion. Followers and clergy alike have differing opinions on what traditions need to be upheld, and which ones need to be changed to better suit the modern world. The Catholic Church has had an especially difficult time with reform over the years. In the past, attempts to reform have either been stopped (which happened to John Wycliffe who suggested, among other things, allowing the clergy to marry, and translating the scriptures into the vernacular) or have resulted in a new religion (such as the Lutheran Church, which was brought about by Martin Luther’s attempt to initiate reform the church regarding many issues, including the hierarchy of the church, as well as the translation of scriptures into living languages. He, in fact, was responsible for the first translation of the scriptures into German) (Schmidt et al.).

Conservatives, especially in recent years, have fought to return to the church to what they believe it should be, regarding everything from the language it is spoken in, to the translations officially used. While some conservatives are more extreme than others, most of them still share the quality of wanting restoration of the church on some level.

1. Vatican II, and the Reform that Followed.

The Second Vatican Council (which would later be known as Vatican II) was one of the biggest causes of reformation in the church, and lasted from 1962-1965 (The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council). It began under the leadership of Pope John the 23rd, and with it started a series of reformations that would change the church forever (The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council). These reforms included changes in the policies regarding the liturgy, the language, the music, and other centuries-old aspects of the church (The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council). The idea was to make Catholic Mass more accessible and understandable to the people who attended, something which, at the time, was an extraordinary kind of reform in itself.

Up until Vatican II, the Catholic Mass had been spoken in Latin, regardless of what language the people spoke, the priest stood at the altar with his back to the people, and the people were not allowed to touch the host [1] (the exception of this rule was during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when the host was given to the people. However, the priest would put it directly into their mouths, because they were not supposed to touch it with their hands). What was expected of women within the church was also drastically changed. Before Vatican II, women were required to cover their heads before entering the church, and nuns were expected to wear the full habit[2]. These were three of the biggest things to change after the second Vatican council. In a Time Magazine article dated December 13, 1963 (right in the middle of Vatican II), these reforms are addressed, though they had not yet been enacted. The article states that, once the new layout for Mass had been put into action, “the first part of the Mass, which consists largely of scriptural readings, would be read by the priest in the language of—and facing —his congregation” (Roman Catholics: Modernizing the Mass). The article goes on to say that, in an attempt to increase participation of the people, “laymen would carry to the altar the wine and the hosts to be consecrated” (Roman Catholics: Modernizing the Mass).

To the people of the day, those changes were seen as very extreme. The church as Catholics knew it was being turned on its head, after the many years spent resisting reform. This was met with varying degrees of enthusiasm (or lack of) from Catholics everywhere.

In an article written in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II (which took place in 2009), Sister Christine Schenk, while talking about the reforms of Vatican II, which began when she was in seventh grade, is quoted as saying “you went from a guy with his back to you, speaking in a language you didn't understand, to where you were one of the celebrants... You went from a spectator to a player. It was all very exciting and new" (O'Malley). This is a prime example of how supporters of the council viewed the changes. To Schenk, and many other people of her generation, these reforms were more than welcome, and were seen as bringing the church into the modern age.

However, that is only one side of the debate over Vatican II. Many people argue against Vatican II, saying that it hurt the church, rather than helping it. These conservatives struggle to maintain what they feel that the Catholic Church should be.

Some of the more extreme conservatives believe that Vatican II created a new religion, rather than reforming the existing Catholic Church. One online article, entitled “Vatican II: Renewal Or A New Religion” provides a list of differences between the teachings of the Catholic Church, and the teachings of Vatican II. According to the site, Catholicism teaches, among other things, that “the Catholic Church is the only way to salvation and only the Catholic religion has rights in society,” “the Catholic Church is a monarchy,” and that “the Catholic Church is the source of all truth.” Vatican II counters these teachings by saying “there are many ways to salvation and that all religions should have equal rights”, “the Church is a democracy,” and that “Christians must search with others to find the truth” (Vatican II: Renewal or a New Religion?).

Of course, feeling this strongly about the reforms of Vatican II is one thing; acting on them is another. In the years since Vatican II, conservatives have expressed their desire for restoration back to what the Catholic Church once was. Within the last few years, some of the restorations have begun to take place.

2. The Latin Mass

One of these restoration attempts is to perform Latin Mass. This is done on a local level, with priests opting to give Mass in Latin for those who wish to hear it that way. In Cody, Wyoming, the resident Priest at the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Father Vernon Clark, travels out of town every Sunday to go say a traditional Latin Mass in Powell, Wyoming, or Clark, Wyoming (Mass and Devotions).

Another example is the Fresno Traditional Mass Society in California, which holds a traditional Latin Mass every Sunday (this includes things such as the Mass being said in Latin, the women being required to cover their heads, etc…). The community also has a website, which explains the ins and outs of a Latin Mass, and explains why they find Latin Mass to be so valuable (Fresno Traditional Mass Society).

All over the world, there are cases where Mass is performed in Latin, allowing those who wish to uphold tradition by attending Mass in Latin to do so. The reasons that conservatives give for wanting to continue to have Mass in Latin range from practical reasons to reasons based solely in tradition. For instance, one reason is that when Mass is consistently given in Latin, a Catholic could attend Mass in any country, and still be able to understand it the same as they would at home (which could be considered a more practical reason), while another is that Latin was the first language Mass was ever said in (which is a more traditional reason) (Mass...In Latin?).

While giving Mass in Latin is a more local way to maintain Catholic traditions, there are also steps being taken which will affect a larger number of Catholics, changes that are being enacted by the Vatican itself.

3. Literal Translation into the Vernacular

One large change that will affect English-speaking Catholics very soon is a new translation of the Mass. This new translation, which was approved in 2008, and will begin to go into effect on November 28, 2010 (it will take at least a year for it to be fully instated, so most of these changes will not actually be seen until November, 2011), is said to be a more direct translation of the original Latin Mass into English than the current translation is (Cones). In an article from “US Catholic” which opposes this change, Bryan Cones writes that the main reason for this change is that “the directive of the Second Vatican Council's liturgy constitution that, in the reform of the liturgy, the ‘full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else’ has been replaced by the goal of translating Latin texts into the vernacular as literally as possible.” Looking at this, it is important to keep in mind that this anti-Vatican II change will primarily bother those who supported Vatican II in the first place, while the more conservative restorers will most likely see this new translation in a more positive light.

It is important to understand just what it means to literally translate the Latin Mass into English. As with any translation, it is often very difficult to translate, due to the fact that, while something may make sense in one language, it may make very little sense when literally translated into another language. One of the challenges all translators have is in trying to translate something so it will be understood in the new language, which means it cannot always be translated directly. This is the same with translating Latin into English. For instance, one of the changes being made is to certain responses made during Mass. During the current liturgy, there is a time when the Priest says to the congregation “may the lord be with you,” and the congregation replies with “and also with you.” That response is not a literal translation from Latin; rather, it is a translation which most fits the English language, and makes sense to English speakers. The literal translation of the response, as is being written into the new translation, is “and with your spirit,” which is translated from the Latin phrase “et cum spiritu tuo” (Cones). Looking at this as an English speaker, “and also with you” fits better as a response than “and with your spirit” does. Those who are against this change see it as making the liturgy “less directly connected to daily life” (Cones). Despite that, there are those who believe that the integrity of the words is more important than how well the words work in English, and out of that comes the push for this new translation.

Another downside to changing the Mass into something with a more direct translation is that it disrupts something which, to most Catholics today, has been a part of their faith ever since they were born. To change the translation means that Catholics will need to rememorize the words spoken at Mass. However, it means more than just needing to rememorize; it also means that something that Catholics have come to associate directly with their religion, something that has always been a part of it for them, will be lost, no matter how attached to it they might be.

While some people look at this change and see it as something negative, there are those who see it as a very positive thing. One diocese in West Virginia posted an article on their website addressing the new translation, with a quote from one of their directors who said “they are connecting the language back to Scripture and back to our Catholic tradition, back to the early days of the fathers of the church” (Rowan). This kind of positive attitude is helping to reinforce the Vatican’s plan to move forward with these changes.

4. Moving Forward

The modernization effects put forward by the Second Vatican Council affected the lives of Catholics all over the world, some for the better, and some for the worse. Despite how much support was given to Vatican II, the needs and concerns of the people against those modernizing changes need to be addressed too. Right now, fifty years after Vatican II, conservatives (who are both members of the clergy, as well as followers) are beginning to see their issues with the church addressed, both in the availability of Latin Mass, as well as in the new translation of the liturgy.

Change is difficult. It was difficult in 1962, and it is still difficult today, in 2010. However, change is also necessary. What followers of the Roman Catholic faith need to hope for today is that, through the changes being made, the traditional values of the church, and the reformative values presented by Vatican II, the Catholic Church will one day be able to become the religion that its followers, both conservative restorers and liberal reformers, want it to be.

[1] The host is the name of the wafer of bread which is given out during Communion, and, in the Roman Catholic Church, is considered to be transfigured into the actual body of Christ, while the wine is the actual blood (Richert).

[2] A habit is a traditional form of clothing worn by nuns, which includes a veil, as well as a long tunic, usually in black, or, occasionally, in white.

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