Acceptance of the Council in Croatia

Abstract

The examination of where we are and how far we have come in implementing the Council is commanded by the Holy Father himself in the announcement of the Third Millennium of Jesus, in the apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (nos. 19-20). After summarizing the work of the Council in the briefest terms, he concludes that the "best preparation" for the jubilee "cannot be expressed except in renewed commitment to the most faithful application" of the Council's teachings. Therefore, the acceptance and application of the Council are fundamental points of a great examination of conscience to which every follower of Christ and the entire Church is called. According to him, this acceptance still requires an "additional effort" (no. 36). He reiterates this in his unique book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, in which he engages in dialogue with the broadest readership, in the chapters dedicated to the Council (Croatian edition, pp. 170-184). For the Pope, the Council was a "great experience of the Church," a "seminar of the Holy Spirit" (p. 172). It marked the beginning of a new evangelization (p. 173). It also initiated a new style of the Church, in the broadest sense ecumenical, by which the Council "will remain a challenge for all Churches and a task for everyone for a long time" (p. 177). As a particular novelty of the Council, the Pope also highlights the synodal method, which is "a way to express everyone's responsibility towards the Church" (p. 178). One should also carefully read the two pages where he notes the particular conciliar contributions to the world (pp. 173-184). In any case, his words are very significant: "Every minister of the Gospel should thank the Holy Spirit for the gift of the Council and always feel indebted to it. To repay this debt, many more years and many generations will be needed" (p. 179).