I am sure anyone who is reading this blog knows the Second Vatican Council was called not to settle any doctrinal or dogmatic issue, as with previous councils, but for pastoral reasons. Now from what I have been told by Catholics who lived before the council, parishes and priests did a good job of providing for the pastoral care of the faithful, in some cases going well beyond the call of duty. One need only consider how the corporal, material and spiritual health of parishioners was provided for by priests been available for confession for more than just a few minutes before Mass, then offering you sound advice and sober penance, parish social and youth groups, which were some of the most lively places, numerous confraternities and sodalities for Catholics of all ages, parish cricket and football teams and let's not forget the times when the hat was passed around to raise some funds for a family in need. While it may be argued that some of these were as a result of social conditions, for example prejudice towards Catholics may have prevented the family in need from getting a loan or support for their sick child, others are not. Clearly what the Church claimed to be providing was not for the pastoral needs of the faithful but the social and political needs of the rest of society.