Papal Primacy and Episcopal Collegiality in the Vota for Vatican II

Abstract

In 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.