Laura Delfollo
(ZENIT News / Rome, 04.20.2025).- As the Church marks sixty years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council, a wave of theological reflection is sweeping Rome—not to relive the past, but to discern its meaning with new clarity. In that spirit, the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (APRA) recently convened a landmark academic gathering entitled “Sixty Years After the Council: Ratzinger’s Thought as a Key to Understanding.”
Rather than offering another historical review of Vatican II, the symposium sought to engage the Council’s teachings through the profound theological legacy of Joseph Ratzinger—later Pope Benedict XVI—who participated in the Council not just as a witness, but as one of its young, intellectually formidable architects. His writings continue to offer, according to many participants, not just a commentary on the Council but a roadmap for how to live it today.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, one of the Church’s foremost ecumenical voices, opened the event with a keynote on Ratzinger’s theological role during the Council. It was not a nostalgic glance backward, but a forward-looking reminder of how the conciliar spirit, if properly interpreted, remains a wellspring for the Church’s mission in the modern world.
A series of targeted presentations followed, each centered on one of the Council’s major documents, read anew through Ratzinger’s lens. Mauro Gagliardi explored the theological depth of Dei Verbum, focusing on the dynamic relationship between Scripture and Tradition. Leonardo Pelonara revisited Lumen Gentium and the renewed vision of the Church as the People of God. Father Sameer Advani, LC, provided a reflection on Gaudium et Spes and the Church’s dialogue with the contemporary world—still as urgent as ever in the face of cultural fragmentation.
Seven additional panels offered a wide range of scholarly perspectives—from biblical hermeneutics and ecclesial communion to religious liberty, ethics, and interreligious dialogue, particularly with Judaism. What emerged was not a uniform interpretation of Vatican II, but a shared conviction: that Ratzinger’s theological clarity and fidelity to the Church’s living tradition remain invaluable guides in a time of ideological polarization.
Throughout the day, a common refrain echoed across the sessions—the need to approach the Council not as a battleground of progressive versus conservative readings, but as a spiritual and pastoral event, deeply rooted in the Church’s mission to evangelize. The focus was on rediscovering Vatican II not as a rupture with the past, but as a deepening of the Church’s perennial truth, made newly accessible for the modern world.
In the words of one panelist, “Ratzinger didn’t just help interpret the Council—he taught us «how» to interpret.” His lifelong theological work—bridging scholarship, pastoral insight, and spiritual wisdom—has proven crucial in guarding against both triumphalism and reductionism in the post-conciliar era.
This academic initiative fits within APRA’s broader effort to foster serious theological engagement with the legacy of Benedict XVI. Through courses, editorial projects, and the dissemination of his writings, the university seeks to form a new generation of thinkers who are both intellectually rigorous and spiritually grounded.
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