O Vaticano II, entre a memória e o esquecimento [The Second Vatican Council between memory and forgetting]

Abstract

"This article aims to reflect on the meaning of Vatican II and their oblivion. In relation to its fruit, the article firstly highlights the new ecclesial reality, particularly in Latin America in terms of breaking with the past legalistic, anti-modernist and Eurocentric, and the construction of alternative paths. The article postulates that the Roman Curia, the last two popes and the conservative portion of the episcopate struggled for the attenuation of the formative dimension of the Council. Secondly, the article raises some questions about the dimensions and possibilities of “a new Pentecost”. Here are some of these questions: a) taking into account the long-term processes, could one say that the Vatican II is already outdated? b) What structural pressures and objective conditions would facilitate a new process of change in the Church? c) What can we learn from the growing of the Pentecostalism in our countries? d) Faced with the processes of “web relationships” presented by globalization, would the old model of church organization continue to succeed? e) Will the traditional theology survive to the demands of inter-religious dialogue? f) What is “religion”? g) What would be the main contributions of religions to the great planetary questions?"