The Road To Vatican Ii

The Second Vatican Council produced a charter for the church of the twentieth century and beyond. Part of the council's fascination is that it involves many "stories." The Road to Vatican II is an attempt to tell the story behind the stories of this landmark in church history. Somehow, more than 2,500 bishops, who often disagreed on the most critical issues, managed to produce sixteen documents that touched the very essence of the Catholic faith. How is it possible that so much could have been accomplished in four brief council sessions, from 1962-1965? How did the church move from Pius IX at Vatican I (1869-70), who espoused a rigid, hierarchical model of church, to John XXIII at Vatican II (1962-65), who ushered in a collegial, communio model of church? In answering these questions, Sullivan's book highlights those theologians whose efforts over the years before the council were actually the seeds of what flourished at the council. These theologians were indeed prophets among us, often suffering because of their convictions. Ultimately they were instruments of the Holy Spirit in our midst. They offered the church a renewed vision of the faith and a methodology to facilitate theological endeavor. They also rediscovered in the New Testament a language of life that could speak to contemporary men and women. Hence, this book presents the incredible theological changes that took place on the road to Vatican II; it examines the contributions of some of the key theologians on this road; and it finds evidence of their influence in key documents of the Second Vatican Council. Book jacket.

In the present day, there is widespread confusion regarding the theological achievements of the Catholic Enlightenment. This book outlines such contributions in the fields of biblical exegesis, church reform, liturgical renewal, and the move toward a more tolerant view of other churches and religions. Since some of the most important Catholic Enlighteners lived in Germany, this book concentrates on their endeavors, but also frequently points to other European players. Only an unpolemical historical assessment of the Catholic Enlightenment can help us to get out of the current gridlock of interpreting Vatican II: was there a break with tradition, or was there continuity? By reviewing the historical debates that preceded Vatican II, the unknown, marginalized, or deliberately forgotten roots of the conciliar debates come to light that can help us fine-tune future hermeneutical endeavors. This history is hitherto unknown to most researchers. Indeed, it is possibly the most neglected field of modern literary history.

The early 1960s were a heady time for Catholic laypeople. Pope Pius XII’s assurance “You do not belong to the Church. You are the Church” emboldened the laity to challenge Church authority in ways previously considered unthinkable. Empowering the People of God offers a fresh look at the Catholic laity and its relationship with the hierarchy in the period immediately preceding the Second Vatican Council and in the turbulent era that followed. This collection of essays explores a diverse assortment of manifestations of Catholic action, ranging from genteel reform to radical activism, and an equally wide variety of locales, apostolates, and movements.

The most cherished values of modernity are unthinkable without the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Equal rights, the growth of democracy, and the idea of perpetual progress stem from thinkers who lived 250 years ago but whose ideas are as attractive as ever. This book argues that while Catholic beliefs are commonly assumed to be at odds with modernity, most of the progressive reforms associated with the Enlightenment actually began to take shape during the Catholic Counter-Reformation two centuries earlier and were staunchly defended by enlightened Catholics during the eighteenth century. This is the forgotten story of a progressive Catholicism that actively engaged with the world. Although this mode of thought declined in the nineteenth century, it reemerged powerfully at and after Vatican II (1962-1965)

An informative and accessible guide to everything you want to know about Vatican II.

Vatican II represents a watershed in the history of Catholic ecclesiology. Although it stands in organic continuity with previous magisterial teaching, distortions of its teaching have proliferated since the time of the Council, leading many to conclude that the Catholic Church changed her position regarding the identity that exists between the One Church of Christ and the Catholic Church. Stephen A. Hipp’s The One Church of Christ: Understanding Vatican II refutes that conclusion and explains the Catholic understanding of how Christ’s indivisible Church relates to the Catholic Church, to non-Catholic Christian communities, and to other religious societies. Hipp thoroughly examines the controversial statement that “the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church” from terminological, historical, and theological perspectives, showing that Vatican II introduces nothing doctrinally new to the Church’s self-understanding, but provides a more nuanced way of speaking about the unicity and universality that define Christ’s Church. He reveals that Vatican II thereby establishes ecumenism and interreligious dialogue on fruitful ground, while calling Catholics to a greater appreciation of the extraordinary gift of the Church’s subsistence.

During four years in session, Vatican Council II held television audiences rapt with its elegant, magnificently choreographed public ceremonies, while its debates generated front-page news on a near-weekly basis. By virtually any assessment, it was the most important religious event of the twentieth century, with repercussions that reached far beyond the Catholic church. Remarkably enough, this is the first book, solidly based on official documentation, to give a brief, readable account of the council from the moment Pope John XXIII announced it on January 25, 1959, until its conclusion on December 8, 1965; and to locate the issues that emerge in this narrative in their contexts, large and small, historical and theological, thereby providing keys for grasping what the council hoped to accomplish. What Happened at Vatican II captures the drama of the council, depicting the colorful characters involved and their clashes with one another. The book also offers a new set of interpretive categories for understanding the council’s dynamics—categories that move beyond the tired “progressive” and “conservative” labels. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the calling of the council, this work reveals in a new way the spirit of Vatican II. A reliable, even-handed introduction to the council, the book is a critical resource for understanding the Catholic church today, including the pontificate of Benedict XVI.

Vatican II was the first council in the story of Catholic Christianity to deserve being labeled intercontinental and intercultural. What has been its impact? How should one describe and evaluate its reception by Catholics and its wider follow-up among others? How should this twenty-first council be heard, received, and lived as we move further ahead into the twenty-first century? What perspectives does it offer for the future to those who seek to assimilate it creatively? As a leading theologian, the author uses a highly personal approach in answering these and many other questions, which makes for a compulsively readable book that illuminates the workings of the Church. Living Vatican II explores the liturgical renewal after Vatican II, the reception of the Council's moral teaching, the impact of Vatican II on theology, and the work of some key institutions in Rome and elsewhere toward implementing the teaching and decisions of this council. Finally, the book offers insightful suggestions about the future of the Church. Book jacket.