Karl Barth, mission and the Second Vatican Council. Comments of an absent observer

Abstract

Karl Barth was an attentive observer of the Second Vatican Council, even though he did not participate in the ecclesial event due to health reasons. His rapprochement with the Catholic Church ended with his visit to Rome in 1966. In his theological writings and commentaries on the Council, his willingness to address the issues of the relationship between Revelation and Scripture, liturgy, the laity, ecumenism, religions, as well as the missionary and kerygmatic dimensions of the Church, can be seen. These texts of Barth are not entirely known in Spanish, which is why we offer them below. In them, the Swiss theologian makes an accurate and critical reading from the Reformed point of view on important topics such as biblical hermeneutics, the idea of the Church, the place of Mary in the history of salvation, religions and religious freedom. We approach these texts with a historical-critical method and from an ecumenical perspective, also making use of the preceding bibliography. Barth's interest in the conciliar texts, from which he tries to extract the spirit of Vatican II, stands out. The results obtained allow us to appreciate both his reformed perspective and the predominant missionary dimension of Vatican II, as well as the ecumenical will to seriously consider this important ecclesial event also for Protestants.

Keywords

• Scripture
• Tradition
• Ecclesiology
• Ecumenism
• Mission
• Religious Freedom