SALVATION OF HUMANITY
In an address given on October 28, 2008 on “The Second Vatican Council in the pontificate of John Paul II”, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated some fundamental statements concerning the Papacy of his predecessor, pointing out how profoundly and entirely he was a man of Vatican II: “In practically all his documents, and especially in his decisions and his behavior as Pontiff, John Paul II accepted the fundamental petitions of the Second Vatican Council, thus becoming a qualified interpreter and coherent witness of it. His constant concern was to make known to all the advantages that could stem from acceptance of the Conciliar vision…”
Of what is he the qualified witness and interpreter, then? What is this specifically conciliar vision? It is found a few lines afterwards: “the anxiety for humanity’s salvation which motivated the Council Fathers, guiding their commitment in the search for solutions to the numerous problems of the day”. What a precise and accurate summary! The attempted parallel to St. Bonaventure’s work “Itinerary of the soul to God”, on the sanctification of the soul does not change the reality. Notice the focus on the salvation of humanity, and not on the salvation of souls, for they are not at all the same thing. Improving the lot of humanity, the rights of man, religious freedom, social justice was indeed the focus of the new humanism of Vatican II, which Paul VI rightly called “the cult of man” (Dec. 7, 1965).
This address rather reminds one of the September 2008 letter that Pope Benedict XVI wrote for the 30^th^ anniversary of the death of Pope Paul VI, the Pope who appointed him as archbishop and elevated him as a Cardinal. For in this letter Benedict XVI praises Paul VI not for his contribution to the Catholic Church and the salvation of souls, but for his contribution to humanity. “This Pontiff’s name remains linked above all to Vatican Council II… With the passage of years the importance of his pontificate for the Church and for the world is becoming ever clearer, as is the priceless heritage of teaching and virtue which he left to believers and to all humanity” (CNA website). These very true words describe well the humanism of both Paul VI and Vatican II. The heritage is not that of Catholic doctrine and supernatural virtue, but the teaching of universal human rights and freedom, that made him “so close to the hopes and expectations of men and women of his time” (Ib.)
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.