The real crisis after Vatican II wasn’t the Council—it was Catholics bringing secular attitudes into the Church. And today we’re repeating the same mistake in a different direction.
Over the past several weeks on the podcast I’ve been talking quite a bit about the Second Vatican Council. As you might expect, that has brought a lot of commentary out of the woodwork. Some of it thoughtful. A lot of it… not.
I’ve seen many commenters repeating things about Vatican II that simply aren’t true about the Council itself. Just as often, failures in the Church that appeared in the decades after the Council are casually attributed to Vatican II as if the Council itself caused them.
The most common example is the claim that Vatican II is largely responsible for the decline we’ve seen in Mass attendance, Catholic schools, and seminaries.
What is The Forge - Catholic Commentary?
The Forge is Catholic commentary at the point of impact — where faith, culture, media, and public life collide. Hosted by T.J. Haines, the podcast confronts counterfeit Catholicism, cultural confusion, and the forces reshaping Catholic identity, with clear, direct commentary rooted in the faith as it really is.