Les agendas conciliaires de Mgr J. Willebrands, secrétaire du Secrétariat pour l'Unité des chrétiens (review)

The role of the Secretariat for Christian Unity at the Second Vatican Council, notwithstanding the fact that it was a small and new organism created only at the start of the Council's preparatory period on June 5, 1960, was one of considerable importance. The influence it exercised is owed largely to the competence and activities of its secretary, Monsignor (later Cardinal) Johannes Willebrands from the Netherlands (1909–2006). Willebrands, familiar with ecumenical matters because of his roles as president of the Dutch St. Willibrord Association and secretary of the Catholic Conference for Ecumenical Questions, played a key role in the redaction of draft texts that resulted into several Council documents (Unitatis redintegratio, Nostra aetate, Dignitatis humanae, Dei Verbum) still considered as landmark documents of the Second Vatican Council, particularly those regarded as the Council's most innovative products. The current publication of Willebrands's conciliar agendas offers important information regarding the redaction of these very schemata. Certainly, on many occasions the agendas contain no more than sparse and cryptic notes, offering readers merely some factual insight into the secretary's daily activities: his encounters, contacts, and many meetings. Yet there are important details regarding dates, meeting participants, and so forth, providing testimony to the ecumenical work done on a daily basis.

The book features the elaborate array of contacts that Willebrands maintained, including the World Council of Churches at Geneva; oriental churches, particularly the patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem; Orthodox churches behind the Iron Curtain; La Petite Église; and non-Catholic observers, particularly the Anglican and Methodist representatives at the Council. Willebrands's efforts to develop and nourish these contacts were nothing short of impressive. They also led him to undertake journey after journey to the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, England, and other countries to draft a manifold of reports. In the intervening periods Willebrands constantly received guests in Rome and invited them for a meal, welcoming them with his ready hospitality, courtesy, and ability to listen and understand.

Ecumenism in action involved coordinating the secretariat's activities, including those concerning the General Secretariat, the Coordinating Commission, and other commissions that were drafting documents. Willebrands's diplomatic skills also were in demand, as he interacted with the pope; Cardinal Amleto Cicognani, the papal secretary of state; and Bishop Carlo Colombo, the pope's private theologian, as well as their staff members. Organizing the secretariat's work also required attentiveness to sensitivities from both the right and the left wings. On occasion, these agendas demonstrate how a healthy amount of vigilance was needed with the press and political issues that might have repercussions for the conciliar debate. Moreover, Willebrands's function involved constant planning, maintaining a realistic calendar, and ensuring that the work evolved well. Documents needed to be prepared, and correspondence with the leading organs of the Council appraised accurately.

Everyday ecumenism also implied caring for the well-being of dozens of non-Catholic observers or delegates at the Second Vatican Council, drafting an Ecumenical Directory, and undertaking first steps toward further ecumenical dialogues in the postconciliar era.

In sum, these richly annotated agendas constitute an essential document in comprehending the Council's complexity and the considerable amount of work carried out by those occupying a central role in it—those who cared to bring the drafting of the schemata, often dealing with delicate topics that no previous ecumenical council had touched, to a fruitful close.