Pope: Second Vatican Council is the guiding star of the Church’s journey

Vatican City (Vatican), 7 January (LaPresse) – Today, ‘the generation of bishops, theologians and believers’ of the Second Vatican Council ‘is no longer with us,’ but Vatican II ‘still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey.’ Pope Leo XIV said this during Wednesday’s general audience. ‘The work of the numerous Fathers convened from Churches across all continents,’ added the Pope, “effectively paved the way for a new ecclesial season. After a rich biblical, theological and liturgical reflection that spanned the 20th century, the Second Vatican Council rediscovered the face of God as Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children; It looked at the Church in the light of Christ, the light of the nations, as a mystery of communion and a sacrament of unity between God and his people. It initiated an important liturgical reform, placing at its centre the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the whole People of God. At the same time, it helped us to open ourselves to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and shared responsibility, as a Church that desires to open its arms to humanity, to echo the hopes and anxieties of peoples, and to collaborate in building a more just and fraternal society.”