Vatican II: Expériences canadiennes – Canadian experiences

Growing Awareness Regarding Vatican II in Canadian Theological Monographs and Journals(1959–1969)

148 SECTION III Vatican II Viewed by the Theologians / Vatican II vu par les théologiens growing awareness regarding vatican ii in canadian theological monographs and journals (1959–1969) Michael A. Fahey, sJ, Boston College O n October 28, 1958, the College of Cardinals in conclave electedasPope AngeloGiuseppeRoncalli,PatriarchofVenice, who assumed the name of John XXIII. Some three months later, on January 25, 1959, following a liturgy celebrated in Rome’s basilica St. Paul Outside the Walls, the reigning Pope met with a small group of cardinals in the adjacent Benedictine monastery, and, totally unexpectedly,announcedhisresolvetoholdadouble celebration forthe RomanCatholicChurch.SpeakinginItalianhepromiseda“duplicecelebrazione : di un Sinodo Diocesano per l’Urbe, e di un Concilio Ecumenico per la Chiesa universale.” 1 It is that far-reaching decision to convene a 1 Acta Apostolicae Sedis 51 (1959): 68. There is some controversy about the term that the Pope used in his announcement, whether it was “general council” or “ecumenical council.” The official (and possibly “corrected”) published text says “ecumenical council.” 149 michael a. fahey diocesan synod for Rome, but especially an ecumenical council, that we are commemorating in this collection, especially to consider how the council impacted the Canadian Christian community. But, one may ask, has not research on this topic already been exhaustively explored? To a certain extent, yes. Especially for Frenchspeaking Canada, thanks in large measure to Professor Gilles Routhier and his collaborators. Upon closer examination, however, I found several undiscovered nuggets, hopefully with a vein of gold, which merit further eyeing. To do so, I have restricted my search to a very particular scope,namelyhowFrench-andEnglish-speakingCanadiantheologians and their associates reacted in print during a ten-year period from the announcement of the forthcoming council (1959) to ten years later (1969), which falls during the first four postconciliar years. To accomplish this I have concentrated on works published either as books or journal articles during those years. This may sound very esoteric, and in a sense it is, but I am convinced that some insights emerge from this microscopic investigation. I undertook this research in the Boston/Cambridge area, which is particularly rich in theological resources but a region that, not surprisingly, lacks certain Canadian materials, especially specialized periodicals. Thanks to the services of interlibrary loans, I was able to obtain the monographs I sought. And, of course, via Google and other Internet resources I was able to track down pertinent biographical and bibliographical data. This essay has two prongs. First, an overview of this country’s theologians who published during that ten-year window of opportunity. Surprisingly, outside of Canada, especially francophone Canada, several of these major figures are not well known or have been forgotten, partly because, with the passage of time, they were thereafter overshadowed by others who published in the subsequent decade, such as Jean-Marie Tillard, OP. I call to your attention especially to the works of Bernard Lambert, OP, Gregory Baum, René Latourelle, SJ, André Naud, and Eugene Fairweather. I provide a few words about Bernard Lonergan, SJ, See Giuseppe Alberigo and Joseph Komonchak, eds., History of Vatican II (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1995), 1:1, n. 2. 150 vatican ii and Vatican II. I was tempted to include some vocal bishops who made an impact during this period by their pastoral letters, correspondence with the Pope, or eventually through interventions at the council: I have in mind ecclesiastics such as Paul-Émile Léger, G. Emmett Carter, George Flahiff, Remi De Roo, Paul-Émile Charbonneau, Antoine Hacault, and Maxim Hermaniuk. But I leave that for another occasion. Some persons I mention were editors or conveners of important congresses , such as Elmer O’Brien, SJ, and Lawrence Shook, CSB, I mention laypeople, who as journalists or administrators contributed with publications, but men who would not qualify as theologians: Bernard Daly, Paul T. Harris, as well as the proto-ecumenist Irénée Beaubien, SJ. And finally, I mention Gilles Routhier, who at a later date carefully studied the 1960s.2 Canadians theologians and their Helpers bernard lambert, op One of the major figures who followed the council closely during its preparatory stages and during its subsequent sessions was the Canadian theologian Bernard Lambert, OP. Born on March 3, 1921, in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Québec, he entered the Dominicans in 1942 and pursued studies in philosophy and theology at the Couvent d’Études des Dominicains in Ottawa, followed by further...