Modernism in Vatican II: Conciliar Decree On the Ministry and Life of Priests - Presbyterorum Ordinis
A response

Specific charge against
Presbyterorum Ordinis
Hermeneutic of continuity with tradition

 

Conciliar Decree On the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis: Our Lord, at the beginning, “has established ministers among his faithful”.(Conciliar Decree On the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis, PO 2.2). On the contrary, the Gospels attest that Our Lord did not begin to build his Church choosing men from “among his faithful” in general: He built it working with those He had chosen and prepared as priests; that is, with the Apostles.

 

The PO doesn't say "established ministers from among his faithful. It says "established ministers among his faithful."

Pope Benedict was the first pope in history to issue a document specifically on homosexuality in the priesthood even though it had been a problem from long before Vatican II.

Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis: ...ecclesiastical celibacy “it is indeed not demanded of by the very nature of the priesthood,” justifying this assertion with an altogether unique interpretation of the thought of Saint Paul (PO 16.1); the infiltration of ideas contrary to the Tradition of the Church, namely, that among the “functions” of the priesthood, the first place ought to be given to preaching (“proclaiming the Gospel of God to all” PO 4.1), even though the Council of Trent has affirmed that what characterizes the priesthood in the first place is “the power to consecrate, offer and dispense the Body and Blood of Christ” and secondly “the power to forgive or not forgive sins.”

The tradition of celibate Catholic priests is Canon Law, not dogma, which means it is not set in stone, and could change. The married priesthood is not unbiblical per se (i.e., Peter was married). However, there is much scriptural and historical evidence supporting a celibate priesthood.

The Church has the authority to change this discipline and also allow in priests from other rites who are married.

 

Charges of Modernism in specific Vatican II documents:

Critics of the council have tried to map individual sentences or parts of the documents to this heresy but in context the documents do not represent, or yield, to the heresy. These are detailed in the articles below.

Partial list of Vatican documents clarifying misunderstandings and abuses of Vatican II

Growing up in Canada, we learned the Imperial system of measurement (pounds, inches, feet). In our late teens Canada turned metric. It was disorienting and even though we learned the metric system, it still feels foreign to us. Vatican II is like that for many.

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