On Dec. 8, the Church celebrates the 60th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II was the first “pastoral” ecumenical council in the history of the Church. Called by St. John XXIII in 1959, the Council was not convened to settle doctrinal questions or disputes as in the past, but to bring about a great missionary renewal of the Church to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the modern world. However, the legacy of Vatican II over the past 60 years has not been without controversy. There has been much confusion and misunderstanding surrounding Vatican II because there has been a widespread misinterpretation of the Council since it’s closing sixty years ago.