A reliable, even-handed introduction to the to the Vatican Council II, "What Happened at Vatican II" is the first of its kind and a critical resource for understanding the Catholic church today, including the pontificate of Benedict XVI.

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 I and Vatican II represent two of the three ecumenical councils in modern times, yet relatively few studies have sought to understand their relation to one another. In fact, the councils are often positioned as mutually exclusive so that one must choose either Vatican I's or Vatican II's presentations of church and ecclesial authority. Failing to understand the relationship between these councils inhibits the church's self-understanding and risks misinterpreting key aspects of its own tradition; further, it limits the church's ability to teach effectively on topics of concern to modern women and men, such as authority, freedom, and ecclesiology. Vatican I and Vatican II: Councils in the Living Tradition uses the questions of what, why, and how the councils taught to frame and demonstrate significant points of continuity, complementarity, and difference between them. It argues that only by seeing both Vatican I and Vatican II as communicating vital dimensions of the Christian faith can the church's living tradition be fully appreciated and speak meaningfully to modern Christian women and men.?

Gavin D'Costa breaks new ground in this authoritative study of the Second Vatican Council's doctrines on other religions, with particular attention to Judaism and Islam. The focus is exclusively on the doctrinal foundations found in Lumen Gentium 16 that will serve Catholicism in the twentyfirst century. D'Costa provides a map outlining different hermeneutical approaches to the Council, whilst synthesising their strengths and providing a critique of their weaknesses. Moreover, he classifies the different authority attributed to doctrines thereby clarifying debates regardingcontinuity, discontinuity, and reform in doctrinal teaching.Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims expertly examines the Council's revolutionary teaching on Judaism which has been subject to conflicting readings, including the claim that the Council reversed doctrinal teachings in this area. Through a rigorous examination of the debates, thedrafts, the official commentary, and with consideration of the previous Council and papal doctrinal teachings on the Jews, D'Costa lays bare the doctrinal achievements of the Council, and concludes with a similar detailed examination of Catholic doctrines on Islam. This innovative text makesessential interventions in the debate about Council hermeneutics and doctrinal teachings on the religions.

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The Oxford Handbook of Vatican II is a rich source of information and reflections on many aspects of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), one of the most significant religious events of the twentieth century. The chapters introduce readers to the historical context and outstanding features of the conciliar event, and its principal teachings on Scripture and Tradition, the church, liturgy, religious liberty, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, church-world relations, and mission. Consideration is given to some neglected aspects of the council, including: the forgotten papal speeches that lay out its fundamental orientation and ought to guide its interpretation; the presence and contributions of women; and the non-reception of the council among Catholic traditionalists. Ecumenical scholars reflect on the significance of Vatican II for the life of other Christian churches and the search for Christian unity; others examine Catholic dialogue with other religious traditions. Surveying the diverse receptions of the council in the perspective of a world church, chapters focusing on Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Oceania, and Europe reflect on the interpretation and influence of the council and its teaching on the life of the church in diverse cultural contexts. This Handbook will serve as a valuable guide to one of the most important events and bodies of Catholic teaching since the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, to the interpretation of the council's teaching, and to its continuing role in guiding the life of the church in the twenty-first century. .

Sacrosanctum Concilium opened the door to all Christians to understand the contemporary challenge to their life and health, and it started with the reform of the liturgy. In the words of Paul VI the liturgy is the 'first source of life communicated to us, the first school of our spiritual life, the first gift we can give to Christian people by our believing and praying, and the first invitation to the world.' That is surely true for all of us.

The purpose of this study is to show that the formal definition of the spiritual Motherhood of Mary would constitute a doctrinal development from Vatican IIs teaching on Mary. It is my strong view that Marys spiritual motherhood should be explicitly acknowledged, accepted and stamped with the extra-ordinary infallibility of the Church magisterium so that it would become a dogma of the Church, as the sensus fidelium. Such formal definition would give the doctrine the seal of juridical authenticity and prevent it from denigration and rejection in future. This study argues that the Catholic Church needs to advance forwards from the Marian teaching of Vatican II by making concerted efforts to maintain the Marian trajectory in the Church. Also portrayed are the efforts of the papal magisterium and some noted Catholic theologians that have gone back to the sources of the early Fathers of the Church in order to teach that Marys spiritual Motherhood has solid foundation on Scripture and the Churchs tradition. The post-conciliar teachings of the above-stated papal magisterium and contemporary theologians have the aim to nurture and sustain the faith and understanding of the people of God about Marys spiritual Motherhood. The study also examines evidence to show that there is much in the Catholic Marian theology that could improve understanding among Christians of different denominations. In particular, it portrays the fact that Mariology always points to Christ, being indissolubly linked with Christology, and also has intrinsic unity with ecclesiology.

The Second Vatican Council, which ended thirty-five years ago, promised so much: a new vision of a reformed Church aware of its social, theological and ecumenical responsibilities; a truly conciliar Church with collegial structures. However, this vision seems to have evaporated and many of the promised reforms have been truncated or have not happened at all. The Vatican remains intensely bureaucratic. Theologians are silenced and the effect of clerical scandal seems to have led Church leaders to dig in and see the deposit of faith as something static. Once again the Church believes it has a monopoly on the truth and millions of people feel marginalized and excluded. Britain's long-established Catholic weekly, The Tablet , has fought for the spirit and values of Vatican II in a way that no other journal has done. It has criticised the Church (Humanae Vitae) and has condemned corruption, but has also supported the Church where it has been right to do so.These essays come from a truly international cast of contributors who cover the Church of Vatican II but above all give us prophesy of where this vision may still lead the Church and the people of God. This is a Church semper reformanda.