The Repository collects scientific achievements of employees and doctoral students of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The purpose of the repository is dissemination of the scientific achievements of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, promoting conducted scientific research and supporting didactic activities. The repository collects, stores and shares digital documents in the form of books, scientific articles, scientific journals, conference materials, didactic materials etc.
Communities in ReKUL
Recent Submissions
listelement.badge.dso-type Item , On the (Ir)Relevance of the Second Vatican Council(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Quisinsky, MichaelThis article discusses whether Second Vatican Council is or can still be relevant today. It analyzes which aspects of the Council can be relevant, how they can be relevant, and for whom they can be relevant in the present day. Therefore, the Council documents, as well as central documents of its magisterial reception, are examined in the article. As a result, synodality appears as a major consequence of Vatican II and also as a sign of its contemporary and future relevance. This inscribes both Second Vatican Council and the current synodal path in the Tradition of the Church with its eschatological dynamic. On the one hand, the relevance of the Council for the Church in all its expressions has to be considered, while, on the other hand, a specific synodal exercise of ministries is necessary for this very relevance.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , Dogmatic and Pastoral Coherence of the Second Vatican Council. A Contribution to the Hermeneutics of Its Texts and Message(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Woźniak, RobertThis paper is an attempt to present a synthetic approach to the unity of the theological message of the last of the ecumenical councils, Vatican II. The research perspective is strictly theological, and considering the texts themselves, it sets aside their history. The author’s ambition is to propose a coherent interpretation of the three definitions presented by the Council Fathers: liturgy, Church, and revelation. It appears that there is a far-reaching ideological coherence between them. This article proposes finding this common theological foundation in the concept of divine, Trinitarian self-giving in the world. This is what enables a more vibrant exchange between theology and the pastoral life of the Church. These quasi-definitions are the starting point and the theological foundation for most of the Council’s proposals, including the mutual opening of doctrine and pastoral care and a broader dialogue with the world. In this way, the article also presents a significant fragment of the Council’s hermeneutics, the aim of which is to seek the unity and coherence of the texts as they were promulgated.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , From the Anti-Reformist Method of the Documents of the Council of Trent to the Pastoral Methods of the Second Vatican Council(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Napiórkowski, AndrzejThis article analyzes the approaches to interpreting Revelation found in the documents of the last three councils: Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II. The analysis was carried out using the following methods: comparative, historical-hermeneutical (Formgeschichte/Formkritik). In contrast to the scholastic, polemical, and apologetic methods of earlier councils, the Second Vatican Council departed from the dogmatic style of teaching, emphasizing a positive description of the Church, its self-understanding, and its relationship with the world, while avoiding condemnation and negation. An analysis of the conciliar texts reveals two great ecclesial traditions: legal (Tridentine, Vatican I) and pastoral-dialogical invitation (Vatican II). What we are dealing with here is an organic process of development in the understanding of the doctrine of faith.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , Papal Primacy and Episcopal Collegiality in the Vota for Vatican II(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Gilski, MarekIn this paper, we examine the relationship between papal primacy and episcopal collegiality by analyzing the vota submitted for the Second Vatican Council. We highlight the growing criticism of the excessive centralization of power in the person of the pope and the Roman Curia, as well as the calls for a restoration of the balance between the primacy and effective responsibility of bishops. The analysis comprises three main areas: (1) the value of papal primacy, (2) proposals for reforming its mode of exercise, and (3) suggestions for strengthening collegial structures—patriarchs, cardinals, and episcopal conferences—in the governance of the Church. Theological, linguistic, and hermeneutical methods have been used, allowing for a thorough reading and interpretation of the multifaceted source material found in the Acta et documenta Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano II apparando, Antepraeparatoria 1. We have concluded that the calls for collegiality were not a late invention of Vatican II, but had already matured within the episcopate, both in the East and West. Moreover, the reform of papal primacy and the strengthening of collegiality clearly had an ecumenical dimension and were perceived as conditions for closer relationships among the Churches.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , The Reform of the Roman Curia in the Vota for Vatican II(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Wąsek, DamianThis paper addresses the problem of the scope and directions of the reform of the Roman Curia postulated in the vota submitted for the antepreparatory stage of the Second Vatican Council. It has been structured around three thematic areas identified from the source material: procedural and organizational changes, calls for the internationalization of the Curia, and postulates for the decentralization of power in the Church. The study employs a theological-historical and linguistic analysis of the Acta et documenta, complemented by a hermeneutical interpretation of the written submissions and proposals of reforms. The findings reveal a striking unanimity among bishops from the different continents: the reform of the Curia was viewed not as a secondary topic, but as a necessary condition for the renewal of the Church. The analysis concludes by identifying the triple dynamics of anticipated changes: increasing the efficiency of the Curia, expanding its catholicity in the sense of universality, and strengthening collegiality—all while full respecting papal primacy.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , Latin and Vernacular: Vota of Polish Bishops to the Second Vatican Council(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Nowaszczuk, JarosławThis article seeks to answer the question of what language-related requests Polish bishops made to the Vatican in their vota to the Second Vatican Council. In inductive research, documents submitted by ordinaries and auxiliary bishops, collected in the “Polonia” and “Gedanum” sections, will be subjected to a content analysis. This will allow us to demonstrate the extent to which language issue were important to the local Church and, after sorting out emerging themes, detail the expected changes. The arguments justifying these requests will then be discussed, and, in the final section, a case study will present the most comprehensive proposal by Lucjan Bernacki, auxiliary bishop of Gniezno. The thesis, which stems from the research, assumes that the change in the language of liturgy permitted by the Second Vatican Council was not a exerted pressure on the Church in Poland but was highly anticipated by both the faithful and the bishops.listelement.badge.dso-type Item , Dialogue Ad Intra: The Relevance of Lumen Gentium and Christus Dominus for a Synodal Church(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Ansorge, DirkIn order to outline the Council’s understanding of the “dialogue ad intra,” the article will first provide a brief introduction to the concept of dialogue within the Church as set out in selected conciliar documents. To illustrate the Council’s ecclesiological framework for promoting dialogue, an outline of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Ecclesiam suam will follow. As documents such as Lumen gentium and Christus Dominus were the result of compromises between opposing theological factions at the Council, they sometimes offer inconsistent ecclesiological concepts, which affect later understanding of dialogue within the Church. Therefore, the ecclesiological concepts of “apostolicity” and “true equality” of all the baptised will be examined in terms of their implications for ecclesial counselling, decision-making, and accountability procedures. The final passage will present a proposal for resolving the tensions between opposing concepts of dialogue within the Church, in light of the Church’s understanding of itself as a “complex reality.” (LG 8)listelement.badge.dso-type Item , Dialogue Ad Extra: The Relevance of Unitatis Redintegratio and Nostra Aetate(Wydawnictwo KUL, 2026) Vázquez Jiménez, RafaelThis article addresses the issue of dialogue ad extra based on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially the decree on ecumenism Unitatis redintegratio and the declaration Nostra aetate on interreligious dialogue, grounding the analysis on paragraph 8 of the constitution Lumen gentium in particular. To this end, we use the conciliar texts, with references to the history of the drafting of the documents, as well as to the problems that arose during the period of reception of the Council, and how some documents on ecumenical and interreligious dialogue have addressed them. We develop this question by first elaborating on religious pluralism, to which the Council attempts to respond. Secondly, we study the ecclesiological background that made the opening to dialogue possible, taking into account particularly ecumenical dialogue and interreligious dialogue. The study allows us to affirm that Unitatis redintegratio and Nostra aetate are concretizations and extensions of the constitution Lumen gentium. Therefore, without the ecclesiological background proposed by the constitution, dialogue ad extra as proposed by the Council and developed in the postconciliar period would not have been possible.