Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II (NIU Press)

Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II is a book written by the Very Reverend Maximos Vgenopoulos, who is the Grand Archdeacon of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. In this book, the author examines the concept of papal primacy from an Orthodox perspective using the two most recent "ecumenical" councils as a guideline. Vatican I issued the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, which defined the doctrine and affirmed papal infallibility. Vatican II issued the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, which reaffirmed Vatican I and also reaffirmed the doctrine of collegiality of bishops.

The book spans four chapters, two on Vatican I and two on Vatican II. Two of the chapters go into great detail on each of the councils, including what led to the councils being called and key declarations on papal primacy. The heart of the book, however, is the other two chapters, which include Orthodox reactions to each council. To my great surprise, there was disagreement among the Orthodox reactions. Each chapter begins with several figures arguing against Catholicism and primacy and then concludes with several other figures, not necessarily arguing for primacy, but presenting a more balanced view. The arguments in this book basically boiled down to several Greek Orthodox people against primacy and several Russian Orthodox people against the Greek Orthodox arguments.

John Zizoulas is the name you will see repeatedly in this book, as he has a unique theology on primacy. He starts by saying that Catholics and Orthodox do not agree on the role of Peter in the New Testament, so using history as an argument for or against primacy is futile. For him, it is the principle of "the one and the many" that will prove to be the most fruitful for discussion and dialogue. He then compares the ordering of local churches to the Trinity, because even though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal, there still exists a hierarchical order with the Father being the first. Zizoulas also agrees with Alexander Schmemann in the belief that primacy is necessary to "express and manifest the unity of the Church at the regional and universal levels."

As a convert to Roman Catholicism, it's easy to see why the doctrine of papal primacy has been a cause of disagreement and discord. I found myself pleasantly surprised reading this book, as it was thought out, balanced, and unbiased. Granted, it was a challenging read and an academic read, but I expected nothing less. For that reason, it took me a bit longer to read this book than I anticipated. I found myself reading and re-reading sections to try and fully grasp what was being said. The general conclusions section in the end proved extremely helpful in making things clearer for me. The real beauty of this book is that Orthodox and Catholics alike can benefit from reading this work.

This book was provided to me for free by Northern Illinois University Press. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Papal Documentaries from Ignatius Press

On April 27, 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis canonized two of his predecessors - Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. There was great rejoicing in the Church on this day, and many publishers released various books on the two newest saints. Pauline Books and Media, for example, released a book on each that contained excerpts from their writings. Pope John Paul II's was called Be Not Afraid and Pope John XXIII's was called Secret to Happiness. Ignatius Press, however, raised the stakes and released DVDs on these two great men, called The Revolution of John XXIII: The Second Vatican Council and John Paul II: I Kept Looking for You. Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with you my thoughts on both of them.

Pope John XXIII was never meant to be a game-changer. He was elected to the Papal throne on October 28, 1958. This was shortly before his 77th birthday. Many thought of him as a placeholder or caretaker pope. They had hopes he would have a short reign and would just keep the Catholic Church afloat during a tumultuous time in the world. Much to everyone's surprise, he called for an ecumenical council, known as The Second Vatican Council, that would transform the Catholic Church into what we know it as today. The Revolution of John XXIII is a 55 minute documentary that covers this man and the Council he called. The main aim of Vatican II was to improve the relationship between the Church and the modern world. He wanted to "throw open the windows of the church and let the fresh air of the spirit blow through." During this Council, he grew ill and died, so a new pope, Paul VI, had to be elected, and he is the one who saw the Council through to the end.


The format of this DVD documentary is primarily interviews and commentary. The interviews consist mainly of Cardinals who were present for some or all of the Vatican II councils. The four Cardinals featured most prominently are Julian Herranz, Georges Marie Cottier, Paul Poupard, and the only name I recognized, Frances Arinze. The Cardinals speak in their native tongue, so there is a voice-over that translates what they are saying, which might or might not distract you. It is fascinating to hear first hand insights from people who were actually there at the last Council the Catholic Church held. The commentary focused on key figures during the Council, most notably Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), and the documents that were unanimously declared, like Lumen Gentium. What was even more remarkable was all the old footage that was presented on this DVD. The Vatican Library is truly a treasure whose depth knows no end.

For someone who wasn't alive for Vatican II, I found this documentary to be a good introduction. I have always been somewhat intrigued by Vatican II, but have never taken the time to read through the official constitutions. I now feel a bit more inspired to seek out information on it and learn more about a Council whose consequences we are still seeing today. The only thing I wish would have been different about this DVD is that it would have been longer and that they could have had Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI interviewed. However, the latter is an unrealistic pipe dream of an avid Pope Benedict supporter.

John Paul II: I Kept Looking for You is a documentary which examines the late John Paul II's legacy. Surprisingly, the DVD begins with his death. It then takes us back to Vatican II to discuss Karol Wojtyla's role there. It then takes us to the election of John Paul I. The tradition supposedly goes that Pope John Paul I told Cardinal Wojtyla that it should have been him who became pope. One month later Pope John Paul I died and Pope John Paul II was elected pope. The documentary says that John Paul II's legacy can be expressed in one sentence. "Love thy fellow man."

The film then discusses the personality of Pope John Paul II. It talks about his outgoing nature, welcoming attitude to the youth, and the way he went off the cuff with a lot of events. It sounds a lot like many of the things we read daily about Pope Francis, so it was nice that this documentary pointed out that Pope Francis, while awesome, isn't the first pope to show such a love for his flock. We then see a great deal of focus on Our Lady of Guadalupe. The reason for this is because John Paul II beatified Juan Diego in 1990 and canonized him in 2002. He also visited the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on his first journey outside Italy.

I think the most fascinating part of this documentary was the wide array of people that they interviewed for this film. In addition to Cardinals Frances Arinze and Stanislaw Dziwisz (Pope John Paul II's longtime personal secretary and friend), there was a politician, journalist, the Dalai Lama, singer Placido Domingo, and the former Polish President Lech Walesa. This shows the broad reach and effect that John Paul II's papacy had on people from all faiths and walks of life. This was an amazing documentary that was shot in 14 different countries, and I'm amazed that it was only 92 minutes long, or short I should say. I plan to show it to my children when they are older, because even though they were not alive for this great man's reign, I want them to know about him.

I received these DVDs for free from Ignatius Press in exchange for honest reviews. If you found them helpful, please click here and/or here and hit Yes!

The Relevance and Future of the Second Vatican Council (Ignatius Press)

The Church Calendar has just rolled over into a new year, which means a new season of waiting and anticipation for many Christians. For me, Advent also means a fresh start and a time for reflection on the previous year. While this year was an amazing year for my family, as it brought the birth of our first child, it was also an amazing year for the Church. We had a pope retire, a new pope elected, and we even got to have the first pope's bones on display to end the Year of Faith. This Year of Faith, which Pope Benedict XVI declared on the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II, actually encouraged me to learn more about Vatican II, and the book The Relevance and Future of the Second Vatican Council helped accomplish this task.

The Relevance and Future of the Second Vatican Council is a series of interviews conducted by Fr. Geoffroy de la Tousche with Cardinal Marc Ouellet. The book starts off with a brief biography of Cardinal Ouellet. It discusses very little of his childhood, which I would have been very interested in reading, but instead focuses on his adult life. For example, he entered the major seminary at age 19, which is very young and impressive to say the very least. It then discusses his time as a professor, a bishop, and his relationship and interaction with both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

The rest of the book is the meaty part of the text. Cardinal Ouellet discusses both generalities and specifics of Vatican II. Such topics covered include the Church, vocations, marriage, evangelization, and council constitutions like Dei Verbum and Gaudium et spes. I'm not really sure what to classify as my favorite part as it felt like each discussion was more interesting than the last. For example, when discussing vocations, Cardinal Ouellet focuses on both priests and the laity. He refers to Vatican II as a new Pentecost. Laity now have a defined role in the Church, and a great deal have accepted that role with great zeal and enthusiasm.

Vatican II is a council that still upsets some of the more conservative people today. Perhaps it is due to poor explanation following the council; perhaps it is due to the changes that followed it. I have learned in my time as a convert, though, that there is no middle ground on your feelings toward it. So if you lean negative towards Vatican II, I encourage you to read this book. It might just change your mind. However, this book isn't just for the negative crowd. This book is for ALL Catholics - young or old, single or married, laity or religious. The format is also very inviting. Since it is laid out in interview format, you can read as many sections as you want; in any order. I cannot recommend this book enough.

This book was provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click the link and hit Yes!

The Layperson's Distinctive Role (Ignatius Press)

As humans, there are a variety of needs that we must fulfill to sustain our existence. Abraham Maslow developed a pyramid called a "hierarchy of needs," which categorized those needs and ranked them in order that people would pursue them. For example, looking at the pyramid to your left, one would not seek to fulfill needs of safety like security or property, without first meeting the physiological needs. What does all of this have to do with the book I'm reviewing today? I believe a large portion of the laity in the Church have climbed to the third tier of the pyramid and are seeking a sense of belonging and purpose in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Arinze addresses these needs in his latest book The Layperson's Distinctive Role.

The Layperson's Distinctive Role is more than just an explanation of the laity's role in the Church. It is a call to embrace that role. But what exactly is the role of the layperson? For the longest time, laity in the Catholic Church served three purposes - to pray, to pay, and to obey. That means they were asked to go to Mass, pay their tithes, and obey what the clergy said no questions asked. Priests and other religious were in charge of everything else. Pope John XXIII, in his infinite wisdom, helped change that with Vatican II. In this council, specifically in the two documents Lumen Gentium and Apostolicam Actuositatem, the role of the laity was defined and a charge was given to them to accept their lay vocation and become co-participants in the mission of evangelization.

The first chapter of this book starts off with a charge to all baptized Christians to participate in evangelization. The author then explains what constitutes the laity and provides a bit of history on the nature of lay evangelization in the New Testament, with examples such as Mary Magdalene or the Samaritan woman at the well. We then learn about various forms of lay apostolate, primarily Catholic Action. Then, we get to the meat of the book with Chapter 5 - "The Specific Role of the Laity." This chapter explains the contents of important Church documents (including the two listed above). However, Cardinal Arinze simplifies the call of the laity by saying that our role is to let God fill every aspect of our life. We can't compartmentalize our faith and only take it seriously on Sunday. We must be witnesses to our faith in our job, our everyday life, and in everything we do. The rest of the book then goes on to discuss how laity and clergy can work in unison and how the lay ecclesiastical movement is present today, like the charismatic renewal.

The days are gone where we as laity can make excuses or say things like, "I wish my Church had this activity." If you feel like your Church would benefit from something like a Bible Study or Young Adult Group, ask your priest's permission to start one. Don't ask them to start one for you. I can almost guarantee that they will welcome the opportunity for more parishioner involvement. So if you are a layperson trying to find your place in the Church, then The Layperson's Distinctive Role is the book for you. If you are part of the clergy and are looking for ways directions to steer your flock or ways to encourage your flock to get involved, you too will benefit from this book. What I'm saying is that any Catholic would benefit greatly from reading this book. I hope that I can apply its lessons more to my daily life at my job and let my life be a witness in my work.

I received this book for free from Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click the link and hit Yes!