By Tom Neal, PhD
Pope Benedict’s Porta Fidei mentions an important historical tidbit about the Year of Faith — it is actually the second YOF proclaimed by a Pope for the universal Church. The first, proclaimed by Paul VI, was celebrated from 1967-1968 in the turbulent wake of Vatican II.
{I was born during that YOF, which was surprisingly not mention in Porta Fidei.}
Interesting to note that in 1968, less than a month after the conclusion of the YOF, the Pope published that eruption of faith, Humanae Vitae, on (appropriately!) the Feast of St. James, Apostle, Son of Thunder.
Credo
At the solemn liturgy that concluded the YOF, Feast of the Martyrs of Rome, Pope Paul issued his Credo of the People of God, which was clearly meant to offer some clarity on faith-issues (aka the ‘deposit of faith’) that had, after the Council, been muddled in a sea of heady theological experimentation. It’s lengthy, expanding into areas far beyond the scope of the Nicene Creed, but it is rich and fascinating and worth a prayerful read and a gutsy profession.
With this solemn liturgy we end the celebration of the nineteenth centenary of the martyrdom of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and thus close the Year of Faith. We dedicated it to the commemoration of the holy apostles in order that we might give witness to our steadfast will to be faithful to the deposit of the faith which they transmitted to us, and that we might strengthen our desire to live by it in the historical circumstances in which the Church finds herself in her pilgrimage in the midst of the world. Read more…
Catholic Springtime 