The Council is here to stay

 On 7th January 2026, Pope Leo XIV began a series of General Audience catecheses "dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its documents".

In this first catechesis of the series, Pope Leo cites each of his immediate predecessors own observations on the Council:

Pope St John Paul II, at the end of the Jubilee Year 2000: “I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century”

Pope Benedict XVI, at the start of his pontificate in 2005: ".. as the years have passed, the Conciliar Documents have lost none of their timeliness; indeed, their teachings are proving particularly relevant to the new situation of the Church and the current globalized society”.

Pope Leo attributes to the work of the Council the observation of Pope St Paul VI in his encyclical letter Ecclesiam Suam: that the Church “has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make”, seeking the truth by the different means of dialogue.

In what might be thought as a statement of his aims in this series of catecheses, Pope Leo says:

Although the time that separates us from this event is not so long, it is equally true that the generation of bishops, theologians and believers of Vatican II is no longer with us. Therefore, while we hear the call not to let its prophecy fade, and to continue to seek ways and means to implement its insights, it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through “hearsay” or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content. 

Pope Leo's intention that the Church should undertake a rereading of the Council documents offers an invitation to dialogue to those who would prefer to see the Council's teaching, perhaps basing themselves on particular interpretations, as in some way optional for the life of the Church. 

As far as the implementation of the insights of the Council is concerned, I do think that there are examples in the experience of the Church where some of its most controverted principles are actually lived out in an authentic way. If time allows, I may post on these examples in the future.