Editing Pope Paul VI (section)

====Council priorities====
The Pope re-opened the Ecumenical Council on 29 September 1963, giving it four key priorities:
* A better understanding of the Catholic Church
* Church reforms
* Advancing the unity of Christianity
* Dialogue with the world<ref name="Franzen 420" />

[[File:MontiniKennedy.jpg|255px|thumb|Pope Paul VI meets with the <!-- READ THE WHOLE SENTENCE. DO NOT CHANGE CAPTION-->first<!-- READ THE WHOLE SENTENCE. DO NOT CHANGE CAPTION--> Catholic U.S. president, [[John F. Kennedy]], 2 July 1963.]]
He reminded the Council Fathers that only a few years earlier, Pope Pius XII had issued the encyclical ''[[Mystici corporis]]'' about the [[Body of Christ|mystical body of Christ]]. He asked them not to repeat or create new dogmatic definitions but to simply explain how the Church sees itself. He thanked the representatives of other Christian communities for their attendance and asked for their forgiveness if the Catholic Church was at fault for their separation. He also reminded the Council Fathers that many bishops from the East had been forbidden to attend by their national governments.{{Sfn |Franzen|1988|pp=421–22}}

[[File:Konzilseroeffnung 1.jpg|255px|thumb|right|The opening of the second session of Vatican II]]