The Second Vatican Council was "the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century" (Pope John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, NMI, 57). The documents of the Council reviewed, refreshed and re-presented the Church's teaching in order to stengthen the Church's mission in the world of today. They expanded and developed that teaching in significant ways, such as in relation to ecumenism and religious freedom, and had a major impact on all aspects of the Church's liturgy and life. Overall, they offer "a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning" (NMI 57), and, two generations on from the momentous event of the Council, it is timely to return to those documents and to examine them again, so as to draw ever more deeply from the riches they contain.
Purpose
The purpose of this symposium is to shed light on what the council said and did and to consider how its accomplishments can be applied in the Church of today. The phrase "reform and renewal" expresses the understanding of the Council that the symposium will explore. The Council was concerned with both reform and renewal, and the conference will reflect both on how well the teaching of the documents has been implemented and on what was not so well implemented. Overall, it will seek to assess how the Church in the twenty-first century can and should respond to the demands of the Gospel and to the needs of the world today in light of the teachings of Vatican II.