Vatican II Council, Tradition and the Church Today

I agree with Pope Benedict XVI when he says that we must view Second Vatican Council as a continuation of Tradition, not as a rupture. There is no “post-conciliar Church” and no “pre-conciliar Church.”

Liturgical reforms are not a novelty in the Church’s two-thousand-year history. What is essential has always remained: the Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ, whether celebrated in Latin or in inglish. Cassocks, vestments, and rituals may differ in certain aspects, but the faith itself does not change. Dogmas do not change; however, what is not dogma can be influenced by its historical context.

The Body of Christ is the same. Tradition and the renewal proper to each age must be seen side by side. We live in our own time, not in past centuries. We must love and respect Tradition, but we must also not despise the Church as she exists today.

We cannot fall into either extreme: neither rejecting Tradition nor rejecting the Council. If, in order to live a devout faith, I must disrespect the Magisterium, then I would rather live a devout faith while also respecting the Magisterium, without abandoning either one.

We cannot choose between Tradition and the Church of today; we must choose both at the same time. The Body remains intact. The gates of hell have not prevailed, and they never will.