In 1869, the First Vatican Council met to bring resolution to questions that had been left unanswered at the Council of Trent as well as to address new issues and errors which had arisen in the years since the last council. [1] However, in 1870 the Franco-Prussian war put the council on hold and it was never resumed. [2] Hence, even though the council planned to cover many issues, only two Dogmatic Constitutions were produced: Dei Filius and Pastor aeternus. [3]
The constitution Dei Filius contains too much information to be covered in detail in this blog post; therefore, this post is only a brief summary of its contents.
Dei Filius begins by explaining that God promised to be with and assist the Church until the end of time. This is made clear particularly through the different ecumenical councils which the Church has convened throughout history; Dei Filius lists some of the benefits arising from the councils, such as clarification of doctrine, refutation of errors, better instruction for the faithful, and more complete unification of the Church as a whole.
Next, the council explains ignorance or rejection of the teachings of the councils have resulted in heresies through which many people have lost their faith. The spread of rationalism and the belief that Scripture has kept Christ and Christianity from the lives of individuals and nations. Departing from Christ has led the world to stray from what is good, right, and just. Christians have not been unaffected by the rise of atheism, pantheism, rationalism, and materialism; because of these "-isms," many Christians misunderstand and distort the doctrine of the Church.
In response to this confusion, the First Vatican Council was convened to proclaim truth and refute errors. This proclamation of the teaching of Christ shall be done by the pope and the bishops of the world in communion with him.
The first chapter explains that the Catholic Church believes in one God who is the creator of all other things which exist. God really exists; he is simple, distinct from the universe, greater than all other beings, and completely happy in himself. God created the spiritual and material world, not to bring himself happiness, but to show his perfections. Moreover, God has complete knowledge of all creation and continues to watch over it.
The second chapter deals with divine revelation. This chapter explains that the Church believes that human beings can come to know God through human reason, but God also revealed himself through divine revelation. From revelation, we can know with certainty things not available by human reason.
The Council of Trent asserted that revelation is contained in the Bible and in unwritten tradition; both of these have been passed down from Christ himself. The old Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible contains all the books which are sacred and canonical; these books are sacred because they were authored by the Holy Spirit, not because the Church approved them. Scripture has been misinterpreted by many people; the true meaning of Scripture always agrees with the interpretation of the Catholic Church. Also, Catholics cannot interpret Scripture contrary to the unanimous opinion of the Fathers of the Church.
Faith is the subject of the third chapter. Faith is a supernatural virtue by which we believe the truths of revelation on the authority of God, not on the authority of our reason. A person is obliged to submit one's intellect and will to God because he is truth itself and our creator, but faith still ought to be in accord with reason. It is for this motive that miracles and prophecies occur, that our human reason can see the almighty power of God and confirm our belief in revelation.
The faith that is needed for salvation, for pleasing God and gaining eternal life, is achievable only with the aid of the Holy Spirit; hence, faith is a gift from God which can be accepted or denied. When a person accepts faith, he gives obedience to God and works with God's grace. Through faith, a person believes the truths found in Scripture and Tradition which the Church declares as dogma or which is commonly held to be Church teaching by the "universal magisterium." The Church was founded in order to profess and guard the truth of revelation.
The holiness, stability, growth, and goodness of the Catholic Church demonstrates her divine mission; she constantly invites nonbelievers to Catholicism and reassures Catholics that their faith has a solid foundation. The witness of the Church is aided by God who calls each person to himself. The gift of faith means that Catholics have no reason to doubt or leave Catholicism.
Chapter four speaks about faith and reason. The Church has taught that we can know God through reason to a certain degree. However, God's mysteries cannot be known clearly by reason alone; thus, revelation is necessary for proper knowledge of God. Hence, faith is above reason, but reason and faith are never in contradiction. God is truth himself, so any apparent contradiction of reason and faith is due to either a misunderstanding of doctrine or to faulty reasoning. For this reason, any human philosophy or other reasoning which is contradictory to the Church's teaching is condemned.
Faith and reason build each other up; faith keeps human reason from error and reason develops the science of doctrine. Thus, the Catholic Church fosters sciences and arts since they can lead people to God. However, these sciences and arts should not conflict with Church teaching, since Christianity is not just a philosophy, but a divine revelation of dogma.
After these four chapters, there follow the canons; the canons clearly state what Catholics are obligated to believe. Catholics must believe that God is the creator of spiritual and material things and that spiritual things exist. They must believe that God is not synonymous with creation and that God created all things out of nothing. Catholics must must believe that God can be known through human reason. They must believe that divine revelation is possible and that human beings can know supernatural things by revelation Also, Catholics must believe that all the books of Sacred Scripture listed by the Council of Trent are sacred and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
In addition, Catholics must believe that faith is distinct from natural knowledge and that it should be accepted on God's authority, not on the authority of human reason. They must believe that divine revelation can be shown to be true by miracles and that grace is needed for faith. Catholics cannot affirm that human reason can make arguments which require belief. Catholics must believe that revelation is needed in order for doctrine can be completely and clearly understood. Catholics cannot affirm that philosophy and science can show the teaching of the Catholic Church to be error. They also cannot affirm that Church doctrine can be changed or reinterpreted.
Finally, the document concludes by exhorting all Christians to eliminate and avoid error and to promulgate truth.
If people think of the First Vatican Council, they often think of the primacy and infallibility of the papacy which was discussed in Pastor aeternus, but the council was also concerned with other, deeper matters which were dealt with in the document Dei Filius. [4] Indeed, Dei Filius guided theological development from the 1870s until the Second Vatican Council. In a way, Vatican II was merely a continuation of the work which the First Vatican Council had begun. [5] Since Dei Filius is Apostolic Constitution produced by the Pope and the magisterium with the intent of proclaiming doctrine, this document has binding authority on all Catholics; [6] therefore, all Catholics are required to adhere to its contents. [7]
[1]Rino Fisichella, "Vatican I's Teaching as Timely as Ever," L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English, (13 September 2000), 10.
[2] "Introduction to First Vatican Council," at Eternal Word Television Network, at www.ewtn.com.
[3] Fisichella "Vatican I's Teaching as Timely as Ever," 10.
[4] Vatican I, Dogmatic Constitution, Pastor aeternus (18 July 1870), at Eternal Word Television Network, at www.ewtn.com.
[5] Fisichella "Vatican I's Teaching as Timely as Ever," 10.
[6] "Papal Documents," at Eternal Word Television Network, at www.ewtn.com.
[7] "Papal Documents."
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