[7] The writings, whose new style came to be called la nouvelle théologie ('the new theology'), attracted Rome's attention, and in 1950 Pius XII published Humani generis, an encyclical "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic doctrine".

[citation needed] Once the officials of the Curia had recovered from their shock at the Pope's announcement of a Council, they realized that it could be the culmination of the Church's program of resistance to Protestantism, the Enlightenment and all the other perceived errors of the modern world.

In addition, the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, appointed during the preparatory period, continued to exist under its president Cardinal Augustin Bea throughout the 4 years of the council, with the same powers as a commission.

What is needed, and what everyone imbued with a truly Christian, Catholic and apostolic spirit craves today, is that this doctrine shall be more widely known, more deeply understood, and more penetrating in its effects on men's moral lives.

It had 8 chapters:[55] It proposed many reforms, including active participation of the congregation, communal singing, a partial replacement of Latin by vernacular languages, communion under both kinds, concelebration, adaptation of liturgy to local cultures and a modest decentralization of liturgical authority to national episcopal conferences.

It now contained much more Biblical imagery than legal language (believers were now called the "People of God" rather than the "subjects of the Church"),[82] and there were 4 chapters instead of 11: After 2 days of debate, it was accepted in principle by a vote of 2,231 to 43.

[93] Cardinal Frings' speech had been written in part by his personal theologian, Joseph Ratzinger, who would one day become the head of the same Holy Office, renamed in 1967 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

[96] For the schema on liturgy, matters proceeded quickly and on November 22, the document that would set in motion the most important liturgical reform in the history of the Church received final approval by a vote of 2,159 to 19.

[97] At a public session on December 4, Pope Paul solemnly promulgated the first two documents of the council: the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) and the Decree on the Modern Means of Social Communication (Inter mirifica).

[102] The day before the beginning of the Third Session, the pope received a confidential memorandum from 25 cardinals and 13 superiors-general of religious orders of men, asking him to intervene and prevent the doctrine of collegiality from being accepted at the council.

Introduced on October 6, it stated that lay people had their own task of changing the world in accordance with the Gospel, and that this mission was based on their baptism and their participation in the royal priesthood of Christ.

Some speakers mentioned the lack of priests in Latin America and the decline in vocations that was already taking place in Italy and France, and wondered what measures could be taken to reverse the trend.

The idea for a "social" schema, one that discussed the problems of the modern world and the Church's willingness to take part in solving them, was born during the interval between the First and Second Periods, and the project had gone through many drafts before it was ready for the Council Fathers.

So he insisted that a Nota explicativa praevia ("Preliminary Explanatory Note") be added to the schema, saying collegiality did not diminish the Church's traditional teaching about the primacy of the Pope.

Two days later, Cardinal Ottaviani, head of the Doctrinal Commission, received a letter from Pope Paul indicating that he wanted the schema to be more specific about Tradition as a "source of revelation".

[169] Part way through the debate on the Church in the Modern World, the Council Fathers' attention turned towards North America, for on October 4, Pope Paul travelled to New York City to deliver an address to the United Nations.

There was a Public Session on October 28, when the 5 schemas approved so far became documents of Vatican II: the decrees on the renewal of religious life Perfectae caritatis, on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis, on the pastoral office of bishops Christus Dominus, on Priestly Training Optatam totius, and the declaration on Non-Christian Religions Nostra aetate.

[179] There were no General Congregations during the following week (31 Oct – 7 Nov), because the Commissions were falling behind in their work of sifting through all the proposed amendments and revising the schemas before sending them back to the Council Fathers.

On religious freedom, the Pope urged the Secretariat for Christian unity to take into account the wishes of the schema's opponents in the hope the final vote might be almost unanimous.

In the midst of all this voting, there was another public session on November 18, and two of the remaining schemas became the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei verbum[183] and the decree on the Apostolate of the Laity Apostolicam actuositatem.

[180] Once it became clear that the workload of the fourth period would be less than originally expected, the Pope decided to use some of the available time to ask the national groups of bishops for their reaction to the report.

The Italian and Spanish bishops were favourable to the report, while most others were highly critical: they cast doubt on the theological foundation of indulgences, and suggested a complete reform of the system, some even urging outright abolition.

[231] The council brought a definitive end to the Counter-Reformation and, in a spirit of aggiornamento, reached back "behind St. Thomas himself and the Fathers, to the biblical theology which governs the first two chapters of the Constitution on the Church.

For instance, the council's document on the liturgy called for a broader use of liturgical texts, which would now be in the vernacular, along with more enlightened preaching on the Bible explaining "the love affair between God and humankind".

[233] The translation of liturgical texts into vernacular languages, the allowance of communion under both kinds for the laity, and the expansion of Scripture readings during the Mass was resonant with the sensibilities of other Christian denominations, thus making the Second Vatican Council "a milestone for Catholic, Protestants, [and] the Orthodox".

The decree stresses the need for an intermediate level between the universal Church and the individual diocese: this is the national (or regional) episcopal conference, an institution that did not exist in all countries at the time.

[244] The decree affirms certain practices typical of the Eastern Churches, such as the administration of confirmation by priests, as well as the possibility of satisfying Sunday obligation by taking part in the Canonical Hours.

[261] In [the Declaration], a Council for the first time in history acknowledges the search for the absolute by other men and by whole races and peoples, and honours the truth and holiness in other religions as the work of the one living God.

"[285]: 106 As a result of the reforms of Vatican II, on 15 August 1972 Paul issued the motu proprio Ministeria Quaedam which in effect suppressed the minor orders and replaced them with two instituted ministries, those of lector and acolyte.

And the answer is known to those who recall the conciliar declaration of March 6, 1964, repeated on November 16, 1964: given the pastoral character of the Council, it avoided proclaiming in an extraordinary way dogmas endowed with the note of infallibility; but it nevertheless endowed its teachings with the authority of the supreme ordinary magisterium, and this ordinary – and obviously authentic – magisterium must be accepted docilely and sincerely by all the faithful, according to the mind of the Council regarding the nature and purposes of the individual documents.The issue is also addressed by the Code of Canon Law.