The death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI constituted two important elements in the broad theological and cultural landscape of Catholicism. This change of pontificate has also nourished the journalistic and political dispute about Vatican II, its history and its legacy, and not only the historiographical and theological debate. But the research on Vatican II is already proceeding forward and beyond the state of knowledge about the Council reached at the end of the 90s. For 21st century Catholics and theologians interested in understanding contemporary Catholicism in the light of Vatican II the intellectual undertaking is far from accomplished yet. The book offers comprehensive presentation of the theological and historiographical debate about Council Vatican II. The attempt to go beyond "the clash of interpretations" - Vatican II as a rupture in the history of Catholicism on one side, the need to read Vatican II in continuity with the tradition on the other - is necessary indeed because the ongoing debate about Vatican II is largely misrepresented by the use of "clashing interpretations" as a tool for understanding the role of the council in present-day Catholicism.

Quarant'anni fa, con il Concilio Vaticano la Chiesa Cattolica ha realizzato una svolta di straordinaria importanza, assumendo consapevolezza della storia in cui vive e dandosi con entusiasmo orientamenti che le schiudevano nuove strade per proseguire il suo cammino. Fu un periodo di fioritura eccezionale, di promesse e di sogni, che Giovanni XXIII descrisse con le immagini di "primavera" e "nuova Pentecoste". Tuttavia, nelle mutate condizioni storico-culturali dei decenni successivi al Concilio, la scelta di rinnovamento non sembrò produrre gli effetti sperati: l'entusiasmo iniziale si trasformò in perplessità e l'opposizione al Concilio, fino ad allora marginale, riuscì ad organizzarsi e farsi sentire. Gilles Routhier ha raccolto in questo volume le sue riflessioni sul Vaticano Il, tenendo presenti l'interesse attuale verso il Concilio, la proposta di Giovanni Paolo Il di farne la bussola per orientare la Chiesa nel prossimo secolo e quella di Benedetto XVI, che invita a un'interpretazione della riforma e del rinnovamento proposti dai testi conciliari.

Une étude savante complète de l'histoire, de la réception et de l'impact de Vatican II au Canada. A thorough scholarly examination of the history, reception and impact of Vatican II in Canada.

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. .

On an otherwise ordinary Sunday morning in 1964, millions of Roman Catholics around the world experienced history. For the first time in centuries, they attended masses that were conducted mostly in their native tongues. This occasion marked only the first of many profound changes to emanate from the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Known popularly as Vatican II, it would soon give rise to the most far-reaching religious transformation since the Reformation. In this groundbreaking work of cultural and historical sociology, Melissa Wilde offers a new explanation for this revolutionary transformation of the Church. Drawing on newly available sources--including a collection of interviews with the Council's key bishops and cardinals, and primary documents from the Vatican Secret Archive that have never before been seen by researchers--Wilde demonstrates that the pronouncements of the Council were not merely reflections of papal will, but the product of a dramatic confrontation between progressives and conservatives that began during the first days of the Council. The outcome of this confrontation was determined by a number of factors: the Church's decline in Latin America; its competition and dialogue with other faiths, particularly Protestantism, in northern Europe and North America; and progressive clerics' deep belief in the holiness of compromise and their penchant for consensus building. Wilde's account will fascinate not only those interested in Vatican II but anyone who wants to understand the social underpinnings of religious change.