DRUHÝ VATIKÁNSKÝ KONCIL, HERMENEUTIKA KONTINUITY A PONTIFIKÁT PAPEŽE BENEDIKTA XVI

In this article the author evaluates the Second Vatican Council and the role of Pope Benedict XV in relation to it nearly half a century later. The author rejects the notion of joining exclusively the spirit and the letter of the council. He argues that in addition to the text of the conciliar documents, one must perceive the spirit of the writing, though expressed implicitly, and this helps to interpret the text in a certain light. This procedure fully corresponds to the tradition of the church, which always interprets its writings. The article is rather critical in evaluating the Pope Benedict, who was a supporter of the reforms but later in life became a conservative and displayed a negative attitude toward the Second Vatican Council. In his reasoning the pope used ahistorical vision of the world, allowed the celebration of the Latin Mass, even without the permission of the local bishop, lifted the excommunication of Lefebvrists, and made other decisions that showed him inclined to promote the conservative ‘reform of the reform’ of the council.