Vatican II Behind the Iron Curtain

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INTRODUCTION

• • • Piotr H. Kosicki

The announcement of the Council aroused great interest and great

hope. It seemed that, after the stifling regime of Pius XII, the win-

dows were at last being opened; one could breathe. The Church was

being given its chance. One was becoming open to dialogue. Little

by little, these hopes became shrouded in a fine film of dust.

— Yves Congar, OP, Council expert, reflecting on preparations

for the First Session

Roughly near the Palazzo della Cancellaria we stop at a small pizzeria

to nourish ourselves with hot pizza and red wine and to share our

impressions of the city and the news of the Kennedy tragedy. The

evenings in this city are long, and it’s warm; everything is encourag-

ing us to continue our stroll through the ever-more tranquil streets

and beautiful cul-de-sacs. Holding me back is the lone thought that

I have yet to take several different buses to return to the dormitory

where I am staying, which is far away.

— Janusz Zabłocki, Polish Catholic journalist, after a long

day covering Council fathers’ reactions to news of the

JFK assassination

On January 25, 1959, the recently elected Pope John XXIII an-
nounced plans for an ecumenical council “to proclaim the truth”
and “to reanimate the faith of Christians.”1 Charged with the

Epigraphs are from Yves Congar, OP, My Journal of the Council, trans. Mary John
Ronayne and Mary Cecily Boulding (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2012), 5;
and Janusz Zabłocki, Dzienniki, vol. 1, 1956–1965 (Warsaw: IPN-KŚZpNP, 2008), 494;
author’s translation.

1. Xavier Rynne [Francis X. Murphy], Vatican Council II (New York: Farrar,
   Straus, and Giroux, 1968), 3–4.