Rev. Ralph Wiltgen: The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber: A History of Vatican II

[Stone]

THE FIRST SESSION
October 11 to December 8, 1962

"THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NOT A COLLECTION OF ANCIENT CUSTOMS"

In the early days of November, I was approached by Archbishop Geraldo Sigaud of Diamantina, Brazil, who was known to me as a conservative- that is, a Council Father who used more than average caution in advocating change. In disappointed tones, he remarked that I seemed to be arranging press conferences only for speakers who were in favor of the vernacular. Whereupon I assured him that if a Council Father in favor of Latin were willing to speak to the press, I would just as readily arrange a press conference for him. The Archbishop told me that he knew just such a man, and within twenty-four hours had introduced me to a friend of his. Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer of Campos, Brazil. The press conference took place on November 7, and was very well attended.

“Can we be sure,” the Bishop asked, “that the translation of the Mass into the vernacular will convey to the faithful all the nuances of the Latin text? . . . Here we are dealing with a most serious question, one that cannot be decided without profound thought.”

The use of a language not readily understood by all “lends a certain dignity to the divine service, giving it a mysterious tone which, in a certain degree, is natural for things pertaining to God.” The wisdom of the centuries, Bishop Mayer said, had dictated the use of an archaic language in the liturgical services of certain non-Latin rites of the Catholic Church, and also in the best known non-Catholic religions. And since a variety of missals were available with the Mass text translated into living languages, it was not necessary for the priest to say the Mass in the vernacular. Bishop Mayer doubted that a spiritual revival among peoples and nations would necessarily follow upon the introduction of the vernacular in the Mass, as some had claimed.

At the same time, the Bishop conceded that “in certain cultural areas, where the language is far removed from Latin, a gradual changeover could be made. The changeover would be from Latin to a language more in keeping with the local culture, provided that a universal basic element were retained.” He explained here that he did not necessarily mean that the language to be substituted should be the vernacular. Moreover, the changeover would have to be achieved gradually and organically, “always inspired and directed by the Holy See, which enjoys the special assistance of the Holy Spirit in all that pertains to divine worship and the salvation of souls.” As for the peoples of Western lands that possessed the Latin Rite, there seemed to be no reason, as far as Bishop Mayer could see, for abandoning any of the Latin in the Mass, even for a long time to come.

Bishop Mayer’s remarks contrasted greatly with remarks made on the same day by Pope John at a public audience granted after he had watched the morning meeting of the Council on closed-circuit television. Explaining the activities of the Council Fathers, the Pope said: “The business at hand is not to make a careful study of some old museum or of some school of thought from the past. No doubt this can be helpful—just as a visit to ancient monuments can be helpful—but it is not enough. We live to advance, appreciating at the same time whatever the past has to offer us in the line of experience. But we must move ever further onward along the road which Our Lord has opened up before us.” And to make sure that there should be no misunderstanding as to his meaning, he added, “The Christian life is not a collection of ancient customs.”

On the previous Sunday, both by action and by word, he had expressed himself in favor of the vernacular. It was the fourth anniversary of his coronation, and the faithful of Rome as well as the Council Fathers were present at a celebration in St. Peter’s. Speaking in Latin to the Council Fathers, the Pope said: “This should be the common language used by prelates of the Universal Church when communicating with . . . the Apostolic See, and it should be regularly used at Council meetings.” After greeting them in Latin, he said, he would switch to Italian, “especially since it can be more easily understood by very many of those present, that is, by the people, who have come together here in great numbers to honor the anniversary in the pontificate of their Pastor and Father.” This was the very same argument that the missionary bishops had been using for the introduction of the vernacular in the Mass.

Pope John spoke at length in Italian on the merits of the Ambrosian Rite, in which Cardinal Montini of Milan was celebrating the anniversary Mass in honor of the Pope that day. He pointed out that, in externals, the Ambrosian Rite Mass appeared different from the Latin Rite Mass, but that this external difference was no obstacle whatsoever to the “sincere fidelity to Rome” of the Catholics of Milan. These words provided encouragement to bishops from Africa and Asia who had been advocating in the Council not only the introduction of the vernacular in the Mass, but also the adaptation of the Mass and other religious functions to the local culture.

As Pope John put it, “It is only natural that new times and circumstances should suggest different forms and approaches in the external transmission and presentation of doctrine. But the living substance is always the pure, evangelical, and apostolic truths with which the teachings of our Holy Church perfectly conform.” Missionary bishops took this to mean that the Pope supported their stand.

Because the Rules of Procedure contained no provision for limiting the number of speakers who might address the assembly on a given chapter, the Council moved along very slowly during its first month. Numerous complaints and suggestions were lodged with Council officials, causing Pope John to authorize the Council Presidency to call for a vote of closure when a topic appeared exhausted. On November 6, the day on which this new faculty was announced, it was immediately put to use, since by this time as many as seventy-nine speakers had addressed the assembly on the second chapter of the first schema. Two other methods of speeding up the Council were also adopted about this time: less important schema chapters were discussed as a unit, and groups of Council Fathers had representatives speak for them.

For their own instruction and guidance, the Council Fathers began to form groups, on either linguistic or nationalistic lines, and many of them met at a specified time and place each week. One of these groups was the Conference of German-language Council Fathers, which met each Monday evening in the residence of Cardinal Frings to determine policy for the coming week. It counted among its nearly one hundred members all the bishops of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Finland, as well as many missionary bishops and superiors general of German, Austrian and Swiss ancestry. And its forte was that it not only united for the sake of discussion, but also nearly always acted as a bloc.