Fifty
years after the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Marc
Ouellet-considered by many to have been a top candidate to succeed
Pope Benedict XVI-gives his thoughts on the Council and what the
Vatican II means for us today. In interviews with French priest Fr.
Geoffroy de la Tousche, Cardinal Ouellet speaks both personally and
professionally about the state of the Church since the Council,
explaining what went wrong-and right-in the implementation of the
Council's teachings.
Ouellet
discusses his own life, including his childhood in post-colonial
Quebec, the search for meaning leading to his personal encounter with
Christ, his vocation to the priesthood, being a professor in Latin
America and Rome, and his more recent positions as archbishop of
Quebec, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and president of the
Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Drawing on his experience as
both a formator of priests and a professor at the John Paul II
Institute for the Family, Ouellet speaks of the significance of
married love, the meaning of consecrated life, and the spousal nature
of the priesthood. He illuminates these realities with the teachings
of the Council. Among other topics, the Cardinal discusses his
acquaintance with popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, his experience
on the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, and his admiration for
the youth today.
The
interview continues with questions about the Council's four
Constitutions and the Council in general, leading to a discussion of
a wide range of topics including liturgy, ecumenism, evangelization,
the work of the laity, new movements and communities, vocations,
celibacy, human dignity, war and justice, ecology, sin, and the
Eucharist. Moving with clarity and ease between theological realities
and personal impressions, Cardinal Ouellet discusses the state of the
Church today with points that are challenging, edifying, and full of
hope.
Cardinal
Marc Ouellet is
the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and also president of the
Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He was ordained in 1968 and
is a priest of the Society of Saint-Suplice. After serving over 20
years as a university and seminary professor, he was appointed
Archbishop of Quebec in 2002 and created cardinal by Pope John Paul
II.
Fr.
Geoffroy de la Tousche was
ordained in 1998 and is a priest of the Diocese of Rouen, France. In
2002, he completed a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the Pontifical
Gregorian University on the subject of bishops as addressed in the
Vatican II Constitution Lumen
Gentium.
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