From the Anti-Reformist Method of the Documents of the Council of Trent to the Pastoral Methods of the Second Vatican Council
Andrzej Napiórkowski
The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3480-1178
Abstract
This article analyzes the approaches to interpreting Revelation found in the documents of the last three councils: Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II. The analysis was carried out using the following methods: comparative, historical-hermeneutical (Formgeschichte/Formkritik). In contrast to the scholastic, polemical, and apologetic methods of earlier councils, the Second Vatican Council departed from the dogmatic style of teaching, emphasizing a positive description of the Church, its self-understanding, and its relationship with the world, while avoiding condemnation and negation. An analysis of the conciliar texts reveals two great ecclesial traditions: legal (Tridentine, Vatican I) and pastoral-dialogical invitation (Vatican II). What we are dealing with here is an organic process of development in the understanding of the doctrine of faith.
Keywords:
Council of Trent, First Vatican Council, Second Vatican Council, theological methods, hermeneutics, doctrinal continuity, structure and composition of conciliar documentsReferences
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The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow
Fr. Napiórkowski Andrzej, Pauline, professor, Since 2001, he has been the head of the Department of Ecclesiology at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow, and since 2020, he has been the director of the Institute of Fundamental Theology, Ecumenism and Dialogue there. His research interests include integral ecclesiology, fundamental Christology, ecumenism and Mariology. He is the Vice-President of the Committee on Theological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is the author of over 30 books and numerous scientific publications.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3480-1178
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