A. Vatican Council II was a ecumenical council which became the symbol of the
             church's openness to the modern world. The Vatican Council II was announced by Pope
             John XXIII. The Council had met every fall for four years in order to update the Church.
             The meaning of the Vatican Council II was the modernizing of the Catholic Church. The
             council had brought the Church from its former Hierarchical ways, to the modern Church
             The Vatican Council II is significant in our study of the Church today because it revived
             the Church, and made it what it is today. Without the Vatican Council II we would not be
             a communal church, that is a church in which all are equal under the eyes of God. The
             Council had brought many changes to the Church some of which were relations between
             Christians and Jews, religious freedom, the role of church laity, contacts with Christians
             and non-Christians, and the role and education of priests and bishops, to name a few. If
             we had not learned about the Vatican Council II we would be totally oblivious to the
             modern Church, and the reformations in which had taken place.
             It is significant for me to have learned this now because I feel as though I now play a
             greater role in the church then I may have before the Vatican Council II. Having learned
             how the Church modernized, who called the modernization, and why, is very significant
             in the understanding of the Church and it's followers. The changing from hierarchical to
             communal was a tremendous step up for the church, and I feel it is the greatest
             achievement of the church in the past one-thousand years, which makes it extremely
             B. The Sacraments in the Catholic Church are Baptism, which is the initiation into the
             church, and you are born anew in Christ. The second sacrament is Confirmation, which
             is the further initiation into the church as an adult, a deeper understanding of Jesus' call to
             his way of living, an...