Elments of democracy in the Church : Vatican II and afterwards

Abstract

The ultramontane substantial success at Vatican I in defining papal supremacy and infallibility made it look like that no further general council would ever be needed in the Catholic Church.2 Many were convinced that papal monarchy was there to stay. However, less than three months after his election, Pope John XXIII (1958-63) announced his intent to summon another general council, the second one to meet at the Vatican.3 Was this move to affect in any way the lot of democracy in the Church? In an earlier article,4 I sought to highlight various democratic elements present in the early Church by analysing biblical, patristic and historical data. Here I will attempt to underscore the presence of democratic elements in the documents of Vatican II and then consider the present situation in the Church in terms of the spirit of the Council in this regard.