Vatican II

There was a time in Church history when people rationalized that their Mass obligation was satisfied if they attended the offertory, the consecration and holy Communion. Any such thinking was eliminated with the Second Vatican Council.

The teachings of the Second Vatican Council are still “the guiding star” the Catholic Church is meant to follow, Pope Leo XIV said.

“Gravissimum Educationis,” the Declaration on Christian Education, marks its 60th anniversary Oct. 28.

Through the holiness and witness of its members, the church not only receives Christ’s grace but dispenses it, all the while pointing to him as the one Savior. “Lumen Gentium” says that each “disciple of Christ has the obligation of spreading the faith” so that others might be saved, too.

Here is a collection of notable quotes from Pope Benedict XVI from homilies, documents, messages and speeches from 2005 to 2013, the years he served as pope.

Building on the guiding principles of his papacy, Pope Francis this year invited Catholics both in the mainstream of church life and on the margins to express their dreams, ideas and concerns in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

In the past 60 years spurred a dramatic transformation of the Catholic Church, Catholic News Service has moved from a news agency with a house organ mentality to one committing to reporting facts.

Pope Francis’ five-year pontificate has not only had a broad impact on the Catholic Church, but it has also had widespread implications across human society, said speakers at a recent Villanova University conference.