ECCLESIOLOGICAL AESTHETICS: PASTORAL PRINCIPLES CENTRAL TO THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL

Abstract

The Second Vatican Council inaugurated a new way of thinking about the Church and its relationship to the world. Moving from a secure institutional basis, the Council Fathers sought the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ to reach out to others within and outside the Catholic Church. To achieve this, they sought a more mission-orientated ecclesiology and found it in what has been called a ‘pastoral approach,’ which is also a new aesthetic approach since it provides guidelines on how to proceed with its mission and, more importantly, a novus habitus mentis on the part of all in the Church. Here, I consider this new ecclesiological aesthetic of the pastoral principle a vital issue on the eve of this Council.