I distinguish between Vatican II and “the Spirit of Vatican II.”
The “spirit” killeth, but the letter giveth life.
You’ve got it backwards:
The letter giveth life to the “spirit”.
Yes, I do understand what youre saying, but while many of the Modernist problems that have driven the Church into the ground over the past 50 years are correctly traced back to the spirit of the Council, as opposed to the action of the Council itself, there is much that went on in the actual Council that should be of concern.
Specifically, their formulation or restatement of the doctrines of Religious Liberty; Ecumenism; and Nostra Aetate, are very troubling. Additionally, although the subsists in substitution for is matter has been arguably addressed by the bishops as not meaning what it appears to mean, I still am not convinced that there isnt much more to it.
There are many other less-significant though still problematic issues that were created within the four corners of the 16 documents of the Council that cannot be passed off as the fault of zealous Modernists who ran with the spirit rather than the language of the Council. In any event, if there never was a Council, there would never have been a spirit of the Council.
But savagesusie is certainly on the mark when he, essentially, notes that the Church was at its zenith in so many respects when the Council was called, and there were no pressing issues to address. So why then was it necessary? And, of course, it wasnt; it was plainly and simply the diabolic move of the Modernist bishops at the time.
IMHO
You sound a little like the SSPX, although I will say that if the language in the Vatican II documents were “wishy washy” than the letter gave “root” to that “Spirit”. There used to be no “wiggle room” for error prior to Vatican II.
Popes had been warning the Church of “Modernism” for a century (or more) so they had to know exactly what they were doing with the “wording” in the Document.
You are right-—the “Spirit” turned deadly, but without the ambiguous “Letter” of the Law-—it couldn’t have happened.
I like what the SSPX stated——that Vatican II was like the Vatican took the Catholic Canon and placed it on a tall, steep slide. There was only one direction for the Catholic Church to go.
It is such a shame, since the beauty and Traditions of the Catholic Church were exceptional and timeless. Such a beautiful legacy for our children to connect them to the time of Jesus. I actually just got a Latin course and going to relearn Latin. Such a beautiful language. I want to read some Cicero and Boethius in Latin.