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Vatican II: 40
years later
Voices
Doorway to conversion and theology
By DIANA L. HAYES
For the first 30 years of my life, I
was blissfully unaware of the Catholic church. My only knowledge of the church
came from movies like “The Cardinal” and “Going My Way” --
not the best perspective necessarily. As an adult, traveling in Europe, I also
visited a number of cathedrals, enthralled by their timeless beauty and
incredible size, but again I never really paid much attention to the fact that
while I came as a curious sightseer, others came to pray and participate in the
Mass.
All of this changed, quite abruptly, in 1979. In the Year of the
Three Popes, I suddenly found myself with an overwhelming urge to explore the
Roman Catholic church. As I was raised in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion
church, I found this desire puzzling to say the least, as well as confusing. I
knew not how to respond but finally I made contact with the Albany, N.Y.,
diocese where I was working as an attorney for the state. Soon I found myself
taking instruction from Fr. Nellis Tremblay, pastor of St. Patrick’s
Church. Beginning instruction in the fall of 1979, I thought unknowingly that I
would be confirmed and simply return to my life as an attorney, a Catholic
attorney.
Little did I know that nine years later, in June 1988, I would be
defending my dissertation for the doctor of sacred theology degree in Leuven
(Louvain), Belgium. How all of this came about in my life is another story for
another time. However, I do believe that it would not have happened had the
Second Vatican Council not taken place.
The changes that the council brought about were many and continue
to be discussed and debated. Turning the altar to face the congregation, and
thereby including all of the people, was significant -- as was the renewed
understanding that all Catholics, whether lay, religious or clergy, were the
people of God and, therefore, were the church as well. The turn to the
vernacular or common language of each local church, the changes in the liturgy
to make it more inclusive and reflective of the people celebrating, the
recognition of the church’s catholicity, or great diversity of races,
ethnicities and cultures, were all equally important.
For me, however, the greatest change was in the church’s
opening its doors, finally, to women, both religious and lay, in areas where
they had previously been restricted. I often say, jokingly but also quite
seriously, to those who ask about my conversion that God knew not to ask me
into this church prior to Vatican II. For I wouldn’t have been able to
participate in a church where women, especially women of color, were relegated
to menial, domestic or restricted religious roles.
After my confirmation in 1979, when I realized that God was not
through with me yet but wanted me to become a Catholic theologian, I was
unclear as to where this path would lead. At the time, despite having read many
of Tremblay’s books on theology and spirituality, I was unaware that the
path I was being offered was an unusual one not just for a laywoman but even
more so for an African-American laywoman.
When I accepted God’s call and moved to Washington, I found
that I was the first laywoman and African-American woman to enter the
pontifical degree program in sacred theology at The Catholic University of
America. It was shocking to me to discover how few women were studying theology
and the many difficulties we met as we journeyed together. On the one hand,
women were no longer required to sit in the hallway to listen to lectures as
they had initially, but on the other hand, I found professors who could not and
would not accept the validity of my vocation and did not want me, or were
uncomfortable with me, in their classes.
Despite all the obstacles and challenges, I, like a growing number
of women, persevered in my goal of becoming a Catholic theologian. Reading
about the changes that took place in the church as a result of Vatican II
opened my eyes to the miracle of my being able to study theology. The council
fathers’ recognition of the myriad voices and peoples present in the
church helped to lay the path that I am now treading, as I attempt to develop,
encourage and document the presence and contributions of Catholics of African
descent in the church since the first century, as well as the challenging but
inspiring task of attempting to articulate a black Catholic theology that is
both liberating and womanist. At the same time, Vatican II has encouraged and
affirmed my efforts and the efforts of others to inculturate the gospel message
into the culture and traditions of persons of African descent, and
vice-versa.
I can honestly say that if the Second Vatican Council had not
taken place, I would not be the person I am today. The doors so slowly opened
40 years ago are still open -- despite the efforts of some who seek to close
them again and take us back to a church that in reality never existed as they
imagine it. The result of the influx of women at almost every level of the
church, as well as of all races and ethnicities into the Catholic church, has
been the enriching of the church as it continues on its pilgrim journey to God.
Vatican II changed the Catholic church but, more important, it changed our
understanding of church as it is lived out in the ordinary lives of ordinary
people.
Diana Hayes is associate professor of theology at Georgetown
University, Washington.
National Catholic Reporter, October 4,
2002
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