Vatican I and Vatican II as Coherent Christian Discourse: A Relationship of Complementarity, Continuity and Difference

The relationship between Vatican I and Vatican II is largely unexplored terrain in Christian theology. This lacuna in theological scholarship can be attributed, to a great extent, to the fact that the councils\u27 teachings are widely considered incompatible. The church\u27s inability to harmonize Vatican I\u27s and Vatican II\u27s teachings on ecclesiastical authority inhibits not only a more full reception of each council, but contributes to a sense that the church cannot offer a coherent presentation of some of its most central beliefs. This dissertation demonstrates fundamental compatibility between Vatican I and Vatican II by illustrating that they share many of the same intentions and concerns. It employs a method of distinguishing between each council\u27s aims and the strategies in order to illustrate that the differences between them exist on the level of tone, emphasis and form rather that on the level of doctrine. This allows for a more appropriate understanding of their relationship which advances ecclesial self-understanding and promotes coherent Christian discourse. The first chapter engages the issue of Christian coherence as a means of indicating how understanding the relationship of Vatican I and Vatican II contributes to more effective presentations of the Christian message. The second chapter establishes the context in which Vatican I\u27s documents can be read appropriately. Specifically, it looks at the historical and theological factors which contribute to the underlying intent which inform its texts. Chapter three focuses on the way in which Vatican II emerges from the unanswered questions of Vatican I and, in many ways, represents a continuation of its work, rather than a rejection or an overcoming of it. It argues that the differences which have come to define Vatican I\u27s and Vatican II\u27s relationship must be seen within a larger context of their continuity. Finally, chapter four illustrates that a stronger ecclesial self-understanding, made possible be properly relating Vatican I and Vatican II, can edify questions of reception in general and the contemporary debate over Vatican II\u27s interpretation in particular.https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/sot_books/1026/thumbnail.jp