LETTERS FROM VATICAN CITY

 

Fr Francis X. Murphy was a Redemptorist and a professor of moral theology at the Pontifical Lateran University during the Second Vatican Council. Writing under the pseudonym Xavier Rynne he published a series of letters in the New Yorker which gave an honest update of what was happening at the Council, not just the official point of view.  These letters were later published in book form. In the first volume of Letters from Vatican City, Farrar, Straus & Company, New York, 1963, he discusses the debate on “Unity” which resulted in the original document, the preparation of which was controlled by the curia, being thrown out.  

During this debate Msgr. Zoghby, the Melchite patriarchal vicar for Egypt:  

...was particularly outspoken in his analysis of the differences between the Eastern and Western attitudes toward theology and in condemning the evils of Latinization....Rome had always recognised the validity of Eastern rites, but it was necessary to go a step further and recognise the legitimacy of the differences in discipline and theology as well. The doctrine of the Trinity was a case in point. The Eastern Church was faithful to the explanation favored by the fathers at Nicaea and Constantinople, and was not influenced by the Augustinian theology. Likewise, as regards the redemption, the East insisted upon the divinisation of man in Christ, whereas the West stressed the satisfaction that Christ made for the sins of mankind. On the feast of the Annunciation the Oriental Church meditated on the incarnation, while the West chanted the glories of Mary. These two currents were not in opposition, nor did they obstruct  the unity of the Church, but they were complementary and had a legitimate place in the catholicity of the Church. (Pages 199-200)  

As the document being debated and subsequently thrown out emphasised that “true unity could only be achieved by agreement on the essential truths contained in the Church’s deposit of faith” the patriarch’s reasoning was understandable. I love the Eastern idea of “the divinisation of man in Christ” and would be happy to see Augustine’s theology of sin being downgraded.  

Zoghby went on to point out that due to historical circumstances the Latin Church “evolved toward an ever greater centralisation” while the East “had evolved toward an ever greater autonomy.” He maintained that :  

Only when the Roman Church was decentralised and began to respect the traditions of its sister Churches, would there be true hope for the Church universal. (Page 200)  

What would he say if he saw how centralised the Roman Church had become under the last two papacies. Hopefully, decentralisation will begin under Pope Francis and things do seem to be moving in that direction. Setting up a group of eight non-curial Cardinals to advise on the running of the Church and the reform of the Curia has been a great start. Let us hope and pray that Francis can bring it to fruition.  

The patriarch Maximos IV Saigh of Antioch also had strong opinions and:  

It must be realised, he insisted, that the Oriental Churches were completely distinct from the Latin Church. They owed their origins directly to Christ and the Apostles, and received their traditions and rites from the Greek and Oriental Fathers. Hence, even in their organisation, they were not dependent on the See of Rome. Since this was the case, he asked, were Fathers such as Basil, the Gregories, Cyril and Chrysostom to be considered as Catholics of a lower rank than the Latin Fathers. (Page 195)  

He also wanted the document to mention the collegial nature of the Church, which Lumen Gentium dealt with in a subsequent session of the Council:  

...the bishops being the successors of the college of Apostles, and then only come to the Primacy as the basis, foundation and center of that collegiality. (Page 195)  

Much more attention should be paid today to the origins of the Oriental Churches as the patriarch has suggested. This raises the question of papal Infallibility, not Primacy, as a barrier to unity with the Orthodox, as the Oriental Churches are already in union.  

When this document was thrown out another more representative commission was set up to produce a more acceptable document which, after further debate, resulted in the Decree On Ecumenism which was promulgated on 21 Nov. 1964.  

Reading Letters From Vatican City is quite shocking fifty years later. I have read a few books on Vatican II and the Council dealings, but this one brings out the differences clearly and shows how some cardinals and bishops gave false information during the debates.  

The debates also make clear the universality or catholicity of our Church and unless decentralisation occurs this universality is in grave danger. If Pope Francis can hand some decision making back to individual continents and countries he would be doing the Church a great service. However, attempting to remove power from the Roman Curia has proven to be a difficult, if not impossible, task to date.  

We must continue to keep Francis in our prayers and, as we approach Pentecost, ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide him.