By John Oven
Guest column
On Jan. 7, 2026, Pope Leo XIV began a series of reflections based on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. He said that it is important to know the Council “not through ‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content.” This echoes a message from Pope Francis in 2022 when he urged all the faithful to study the Vatican II documents in preparation for the Holy Year 2025. Having now read all 16 documents from the Council, I am eager to share my experience and encourage everyone to read them as well.
Vatican II convened on Oct. 11, 1962, and concluded on Dec. 8, 1965. The Council produced four constitutions, nine decrees, and three declarations. The main documents are the four constitutions: Dei Verbum, Lumen Gentium, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and Gaudium et Spes. I believe every Catholic should read at least these four constitutions, in order that they may, as Pope Leo XIV said, come to understand truly what the Council Fathers intended, not what the spirit of the times impressed upon the world.
Dei Verbum: The shortest of the constitutions, its focus is on the importance of Scripture and Tradition as the way to come to know God, especially through the person of Jesus Christ. “The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil. 3:8). ‘For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.’” (DV 25)
Lumen Gentium: Meaning “Light of the Nations,” this constitution develops the idea that the Church is both a sacrament and the people of God, who each have a certain share in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal offices. Much emphasis is put on the universal call to holiness and the necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation. “Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation… Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.” (LG 14)
Sacrosanctum Concilium: Probably the most well known document from the Council, it is both a call for the faithful to conform their lives so as to put the Mass at the center and a request from the Council Fathers that a measured reform of the liturgy commence. “The Council also desires that, where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times.” (SC 4)
Gaudium et Spes: In this constitution the issues of the modern world are treated at great length under the guiding principle that only through Jesus Christ can mankind find purpose and peace. While much of it tends toward generalities, this document does contain confirmations of some very specific teachings. For example, Gaudium et Spes 51 not only condemns abortion as an unspeakable crime but also states that artificial contraception is immoral in all cases and its morality “does not depend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives, but must be determined by objective standards.” (GS 51) The Council Fathers even went so far as to condemn speeding: “Others think little of certain norms of social life, for example those designed for the protection of health, or laws establishing speed limits; they do not even avert to the fact that by such indifference they imperil their own life and that of others.” (GS 30)
My experience is that the Vatican II documents are, overall, much more orthodox than dissenters on both sides give them credit for. The key is to read them in the context of the tradition of the Catholic Church, what Pope Benedict XVI called the “hermeneutic of continuity,” and to not conflate what happened after the Council with the Council documents themselves.
We live in an exciting time when we have been tasked with the implementation of a relatively recent ecumenical council. While an entire generation failed to read and implement the documents as they were intended, we cannot become discouraged to the point of giving up. I encourage you to set aside any preconceived ideas you have regarding Vatican II and read and analyze the documents for yourself so that we can all truly align ourselves with the mind of the Church.
(John Oven is a parishioner of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Bloomfield. He is a member of his parish’s vocations committee.)
