Conclusion
This volume ends where it began: with an eye to the Council called by Pope John XXIII. Within the near future, the world will see this Council come to pass. It would be foolhardy to speculate on all that it will accomplish; time alone will tell. It will surely be the most outwardly "universal" of all the Councils, and surpass all others by the number of bishops who will attend. The progress of the modern world, the growth of the Church, the ease of transportation will make this possible. Nevertheless, as in the past, there may be some bishops who, because of political problems, will not be permitted to attend. The Church is not without such difficulties today.
In its sessions, the forthcoming Council will most probably turn its attention to those points raised, but never completed, at the Vatican Council. It can hardly avoid reviewing the doctrinal errors condemned by the popes of this century - that of Modernism, especially, which was so great a concern for Pope St. Pius X as well as Pope Pius XII.
Beyond this, we can be sure that the Holy Spirit will accomplish that which will most of all benefit the Church. Those who take part in the Council will have the history of these earlier Councils to guide them. Past mistakes can be avoided, and past successes imitated. But the modern world presents its own problems, and these will challenge the mind of the Council. There may be no easy solution to every problem raised. This was true in the past, and we have no reason to think that it will not be true in our own time.
Nevertheless, the world has every reason to look forward to this twenty-first Council with great interest. Viewing the accomplishments of the past, we may be sure that we are witnessing a great event in history. From this gathering there will come forth the directives that will guide the Church as it charts its path for the future. Once again, through the weak men who make up His Church upon earth, Christ will speak to the world. His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will once more guide the destinies of that Church in an extraordinary fashion.
Historians of the future will often look back upon these sessions; theologians will carefully analyze them. The Council will stand forth as a symbol of the Church in the twentieth century, that Church of which we ourselves are a part. It will take its place as the most recent addition to that long line of Christian landmarks erected through the centuries; it will give eloquent and lasting testimony to the abiding presence of that Divine Spirit promised by Christ. Through the power of this Spirit the Church has triumphed over persecution and heresy in the past, and through this same Spirit the Church will face without fear whatever trials may lie ahead.