SIOUX CITY, IOWA — To celebrate his four years as Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, Bishop R. Walker Nickless has written a pastoral letter titled “Ecclesia Semper Reformanda (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal),” reflecting on his “understanding of the state and direction of the Church, both universal and particular, at this juncture in her history.”
Nickless begins by identifying himself as “thoroughly a product” of the momentous time of the Second Vatican Council, which he calls “the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in centuries.” While much has been done to implement the reforms of Vatican II, the bishop writes, there is much work left. “The Church is always in need of renewal,” Bishop Nickless states, “because it is made up of us, imperfect human beings.”
The pastoral letter remembers briefly the reasons for the Second Vatican Council’s convocation and the work that’s been done since that time, then echos Pope Benedict XVI’s assessment that there have been two schools of thought guiding the implementation of the council — an interpretation of discontinuity or rupture and an interpretation of continuity and reform.
“It is crucial,” Bishop Nickless writes, “that we all grasp that the hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture, which many think is the settled and even official position, is not the true meaning of the Council.”
“This interpretation sees the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Church almost as two different churches. It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past. There can be no split, however, between the Church and her faith before and after the Council. We must stop speaking of the ‘Pre-Vatican II’ and ‘Post-Vatican II’ Church, and stop seeing various characteristics of the Church as ‘pre’ and ‘post’ Vatican II. Instead, we must evaluate them according to their intrinsic value and pastoral effectiveness in this day and age.”
“Therefore,” Bishop Nickless concludes, “we must heed the Holy Father’s point that one interpretation, the ‘hermeneutic of reform,’ is valid, and has borne and is bearing fruit. This hermeneutic of reform, as described above, takes seriously and keeps together the two poles of identity (the ancient deposit of faith and life) and engagement with the world (teaching it more efficaciously).”
The bishop reminds people that, “the ‘spirit of Vatican II’ must be found only in the letter of the documents themselves.”
The so-called “spirit” of the Council, as imagined by those holding the hermeneutic of discontinuity or rupture, the bishop said, “has no authoritative interpretation. It is a ghost or demon that must be exorcised if we are to proceed with the Lord’s work.”
Bishop Nickless also outlines his vision for concrete steps that the faithful could take to move forward. You can read all of the bishop’s pastoral letter at www.scdiocese.org/files/Pastoral_Letter_updated100809.pdf
William Yallaly is the associate director of communications and the executive assistant to Bishop Robert C. Morlino.