The Second Vatican Council solemnly declared in its Constitution on the Church [Lumen Gentium] that all the teachings of the Council are in full continuity with the teachings of former councils:
"Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church. Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission. This it intends to do following faithfully the teaching of previous councils. The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ." (LG, No. 1).
There are those who attempt to justify their rejection of Vatican II teaching by reminding themselves (and others) that while the canons of the Council of Trent and of Vatican Council I are de fide; none of the decrees of Vatican II are de fide. The Second Vatican Council was pastoral in nature. But once again, as the Fathers of Vatican II stressed, all the teachings of the Council are in full continuity with the teachings of former councils.
This point is not understood by some. Or it is rejected in a vain attempt to rationalize rebellion from the Church's authority. This is why Pope Benedict XVI (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) said - in The Ratzinger Report, pp. 28, 29 - that, "It is..impossible to decide in favor of Trent and Vatican I, but against Vatican II. Whoever denies Vatican II denies the authority that upholds the other two councils and thereby detaches them from their foundation. And this applies to the so-called 'traditionalism', also in its extreme forms...Every partisan choice destroys the whole (the very history of the Church) which can exist only as an indivisible unity." Cardinal Ratzinger goes on to say that, "There is no 'pre' or 'post' conciliar Church; there is but one, unique Church that walks the path toward the Lord, ever deepening and ever better understanding the treasure of faith that he himself has entrusted to her. There are no leaps in this history, there are no fractures, and there is no break in continuity..."(p. 35).
"Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church. Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission. This it intends to do following faithfully the teaching of previous councils. The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ." (LG, No. 1).
There are those who attempt to justify their rejection of Vatican II teaching by reminding themselves (and others) that while the canons of the Council of Trent and of Vatican Council I are de fide; none of the decrees of Vatican II are de fide. The Second Vatican Council was pastoral in nature. But once again, as the Fathers of Vatican II stressed, all the teachings of the Council are in full continuity with the teachings of former councils.
This point is not understood by some. Or it is rejected in a vain attempt to rationalize rebellion from the Church's authority. This is why Pope Benedict XVI (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) said - in The Ratzinger Report, pp. 28, 29 - that, "It is..impossible to decide in favor of Trent and Vatican I, but against Vatican II. Whoever denies Vatican II denies the authority that upholds the other two councils and thereby detaches them from their foundation. And this applies to the so-called 'traditionalism', also in its extreme forms...Every partisan choice destroys the whole (the very history of the Church) which can exist only as an indivisible unity." Cardinal Ratzinger goes on to say that, "There is no 'pre' or 'post' conciliar Church; there is but one, unique Church that walks the path toward the Lord, ever deepening and ever better understanding the treasure of faith that he himself has entrusted to her. There are no leaps in this history, there are no fractures, and there is no break in continuity..."(p. 35).
