Convening Vatican II: John XXIII calls for a council

Commonweal, Feb 12, 1999 by Joseph A. Komonchak

It appears that Ruffini, along with Cardinal Ottaviani, who had headed a commission appointed by Pius XII to draw up an agenda for a possible council, were among those who had spoken of the possibility of a council during the conclave. Their enthusiasm for the idea, in such contrast to the initial disbelief of men like Montini and Lercaro, who would soon reverse themselves and eventually become active and effective leaders of the council, already anticipates the drama of the council. In the thirty-five months between the announcement and the opening of the council, in the struggle over the purpose and character of Vatican II, the views of Ruffini and Ottaviani would prevail: The council should restate and confirm the antimodern attitudes and strategies of the modern papacy. It would only be in his opening speech at the first session of Vatican II that John XXIII, who had been curiously passive so far, would side with the critics of the preparation, among them Montini, Lercaro, Suenens of Malines, and Leger of Montreal, and orient the council away from the catastrophism of "the prophets of doom" and toward a positive pastoral engagement with the challenges of the day. By the end of that session, in something like a coup d'eglise, those who had presided over the preparation were marginalized and those who had then been marginalized would emerge as conciliar leaders. And Pope John XXIII became known as the pope of a transition quite different from the one expected of him.

The Reverend Joseph A. Komonchak holds the John and Gertrude Hubbard Chair in Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America.