October 11 was the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Vatican II. Pope Francis marked the occasion with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, which is also the feast day of St. John XXIII, who of course was the pope to call the Council. In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on how Vatican II continues to shape us today. A lot of the headlines mentioned how he called for communion in the face of such polarization. But here’s the best quote from the homily: “Let us rediscover the Council in order to restore primacy to God, to what is essential: to a Church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves; to a Church that is rich in Jesus and poor in assets; to a Church that is free and freeing. This was the path that the Council pointed out to the Church.”

Guest David Gibson is one of the best people to talk to if you want to think about Vatican II and the way it continues to unfold in the church in our own times. David is the director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York City. The Center hosts conversations and events that explore the relationships between faith and contemporary life. David has been there since 2017, arriving after a long career as an award-winning religion journalist, author and filmmaker.

Gibson is the author of two books on Catholicism: “The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism” and “The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.” He co-wrote and co-produced several documentaries on Christianity for CNN and the History Channel and co-authored a book on biblical archeology, “Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery,” the basis of a popular CNN series of the same name.

Before coming to Fordham, Gibson worked for six years as a national reporter at Religion News Service and specialized in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Gibson is a frequent media commentator and op-ed writer on topics related to the Catholic Church and religion in America.

In addition to discussing Vatican II, David talked about the ongoing synod process taking place throughout the global church, plus why maybe engaging culture is a way to overcome polarization and decline in the church.

More about the Center on Religion and Culture: https://www.fordham.edu/about/living-the-mission/center-on-religion-and-culture/

Follow David Gibson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GibsonWrites

Pope Francis’ Vatican II anniversary homily: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2022/documents/20221011-omelia-60concilio.html

U.S. National Synthesis from the Synod on Synodality: https://www.usccb.org/resources/us-national-synthesis-2021-2023-synod

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.