After Vatican II: Trajectories and Hermeneutics
Overview
Since the closing of Vatican II (1962–1965) nearly 50 years ago, several multi-volume studies have detailed how the bishops at the council debated successive drafts and finally approved the 16 documents published as the proceedings of the council. However, the meaning of those documents, their proper interpretations, and the ongoing developments they set in motion have been hotly debated.
In a word, Vatican II continues to be very much a topic of discussion and debate in the Roman Catholic Church and beyond. The council was an extraordinarily complex reality. It is no wonder, therefore, that opinions vary, sometimes sharply, as to its significance. This volume explores these major flashpoints.
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Interested in similar titles? Be sure to check out the Eerdmans Catholic Studies Collection (6 vols.).
- “Trajectories and Hermeneutics” by John O’Malley, S.J.
- “Between Documents and Spirit: The Case of the ‘New Catholic Movements’” by Massimo Faggioli
- “Vatican II and Moral Theology” by Darlene Fozard Weaver
- “The Spirit of Vatican II and Moral Theology: Evangelium Vitae as a Case Study” by M. Cathleen Kaveny
- “Vatican II and the Postconciliar Magisterium on the Salvation of the Adherents of Other Religions” by Francis A. Sullivan, S.J.
- “The Catholic Church and Mission to the Jews” by John Connelly
- “A Soldier of the Great War: Henri de Lubac and the Patristic Sources for a Premodern Theology” by Robin Darling Young
- “Interpreting the Council and Its Consequences: Concluding Reflections” by Joseph A. Komonchak
These essays recognize that the historical and cultural context of the Second Vatican Council should shape the interpretation of the resultant texts. After Vatican II shows that the hackneyed focus on the vexed issue of the ‘spirit’ vs. the ‘letter’ of the text is a blunder: the ‘letter’ cannot be interpreted apart from the acts issuing those ‘letters,’ and the ‘spirit’ cannot be discerned without understanding the trajectories leading into and resulting from the inspired conciliar actions. After Vatican II makes a sterling contribution to the ongoing reception of the act and acts of Vatican II.
—Terrence W. Tilley, professor of Catholic theology, Fordham University
An historic event resists adequate comprehension because of its ongoing effects, just as it provokes endless interpretation on the part of those influenced, one way or another, by what happened—and who are now committed to contributing to its unfolding. Given the profusion of emerging responses, both historical and theological, to the conciliar documents of Vatican II, this volume is a valuable guide. The ‘trajectories and hermeneutics’ expressed in After Vatican II will keep inquiry alive in admirable continuation of the conciliar ‘style’—generous, courageous, pastoral, and deeply ecclesial.
—Anthony J. Kelly, professor, Australian Catholic University
- Title: After Vatican II: Trajectories and Hermeneutics
- Editors: James L. Heft and John O’Malley
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2012
- Pages: 216
- Resource Type: Collected Essays
- Topic: Ecclesiology
James L. Heft is Alton Brooks Professor of Religion and president of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
John O’Malley is professor in the Theology Department of Georgetown University, Washington, DC.