The Case for Continuity

Early in his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the Roman Curia about the proper means of interpreting the Second Vatican Council. In contrast to those on the extremes who have a dualistic view of the Church as either ending or beginning with the Council, Benedict proposed what has come to be known as “the hermeneutic of continuity.” The Council was to be understood and interpreted in continuity with the past, not as a break with it. We view what is new through the lens of what has come before. Tradition, not current opinion, is the benchmark for authentic reform.

Benedict’s corrective appears more necessary now than ever. In the 17 years since his address, the Catholic Church seems to have regressed. Her members are now embroiled in the very same controversies that beleaguered their parents and grandparents. The liturgical wars have returned with a vengeance: What did Vatican II really say about the Liturgy? What’s the place of the “pre-conciliar” Liturgy? In her dealing with China, the Church is again confronted with how best to relate to a totalitarian state. In the West, the place of Catholicism in a democratic republic—and whether it even has a place—is questioned anew. Meanwhile under the guise of “dialogue” and “welcome” and “accompaniment,” prelates in Belgium, Germany, and even Rome make noise about changing the Church’s unchangeable teaching on human sexuality.

Not surprisingly, there has been a renewed questioning of Vatican II. It’s tempting to look at our woes and conclude that the most significant ecclesial event in centuries either caused them or failed to solve them. Interestingly, those voices calling for the loosening of ecclesiastical and doctrinal discipline don’t even invoke Vatican II as their inspiration or guide. It’s too traditional for them. Their paradigm has shifted beyond it.

In the midst of all this, George Weigel has published To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II. As Pope Saint John Paul II’s official biographer and the great chronicler of the Church over the past 40 years, Weigel is perfectly suited to the task of re-presenting the history and theology

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