2002

8th October 2002
Hunter Catholic Community to Reflect on Impact of Vatican II 40 Years On
This Friday evening October 11, the Hunter's Catholic community will gather for a Forum to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and to explore its impact on the Church and our world.

The Second Vatican Council, popularly called Vatican II, began on October 11, 1962. It was held in Rome over four sessions during the autumns of 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965. Convened by Pope John XXIII and continued under Paul VI, it was the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

Regarded by many as a watershed moment, Vatican II's announced purpose was spiritual renewal of the Church and a reconsideration of the position of the Church in the modern world.

Vatican II introduced considerable changes to the Church both internally and in its relationship with others. Many would say that the Catholic Church has changed more in the 40 years since Vatican II than it had in the previous 200.

During this week's Forum entitled Vatican II - Forty Years Later, six members of the Maitland-Newcastle diocesan community - a bishop, a young woman, a priest, a religious sister, and a married man and woman - will reflect on what Vatican II has meant to them.

Bishop Michael Malone will share his reflections on Vatican II - how it impacted upon him personally - but also how it has influenced his understanding of and vision for the Church.

"I consider myself fortunate to have lived at the right time: for I was young enough to have grown with Vatican II and its influence, yet old enough to acknowledge the importance of pre-Vatican II faith and practise. My foundations were firm but not so unbending as to dismiss a new reality," said Bishop Malone.

According to Mr Gerard Sullivan, a member of the Diocesan Faith Development Commission and one of the Forum organisers, "The evening will be an opportunity to engage people in conversation about the significant issues that Vatican II raised. But it will also be an opportunity to look to the future and to again reconsider the position of the Church our modern world."

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