The Modern World of 1965 is Fading Away

The concession to such an epoch as "the modern world" characterized by dozens of expressions found in the the Second Vatican Council's 16 documents wedded it to a specific era thereby limiting its value for enduring application. It is the only council ever to address its own time as a separate epoch. The first 20 ecumenical councils speak to all and forever. Vatican II used many expressions such as "today", "nowadays", and even in the very title of its documents! Nostra aetate means "in our time" and the unfortunate document Gaudium et Spes is styled "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World." Therefore as a complete anomaly in Church history, Vatican II is the only council that deliberately avoided dealing with dogma and attached an expiration date to its teaching. The Modern World (so-called) in 2065 will certainly be different from the "modern world" of 1965.

From Dietrich Vonhildebrand's classic Trojan Horse in the City of God.