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	Questions and Answers Regarding the American Catholic Council Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit June 8, 2011 http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/News+++Publications+2203/ACC.htm The American Catholic Council is being held on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II. Are the positions taken by the ACC consistent with the teachings of Vatican II? Answer: No. While the ACC upholds some general values affirmed by Vatican II, there are explicit departures from what the Council actually taught. For example, the Preamble to the ACC's "Catholic Bill of Rights and Responsibilities [CBRR]" states that "distinctions between clergy and laity are functional and arbitrary," but Vatican II teaches that "the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial priesthood differ from one another in essence and not only in degree."[i] The ACC's "Declaration for Reform and Renewal" seeks "reform of the governing structures of the Church so that they reflect the better aspects of the American experience" and "a democratic spirit." Vatican II, however, affirms the "perpetuity" of the hierarchical structure of the Church, which is realized in "the sacred primacy of the Roman Pontiff"[ii] and "the sacred order of bishops" who have succeeded to the place of the apostles "by divine institution."[iii] The ACC affirms an alleged "freedom to dissent" from Church teachings (CBRR, no. IV), but Vatican II instructs the faithful to manifest "faithful obedience"[iv] to the Church's Magisterium and "religious submission of will and intellect" to the teachings of the Roman Pontiff even when he is not speaking ex cathedra.[v]
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