Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Avery Dulles | John W. O’MalleyFebruary 24, 2003

On the fortieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, two distinguished Jesuit theologians looked back on the council and reflected on what really happened. John W. O'Malley argues in "The Style of Vatican II" that "Vatican II cannot be interpreted in a minimal sense. Vatican II is in need of further implementation especially in its greatest achievement, a redefinition of the way the church operates, does business." 

Cardinal Dulles took a different tack in "Vatican II: Myth and Reality." In a list of common misinterpretations of the Councl, ne hotes the view that "God continues to reveal himself in secular experience through the signs of the times, which therefore provide criteria for interpreting the Gospel." In fact Vatican II taught that "revelation became complete in Jesus Christ and that no further public revelation is to be expected before the end of time, when Christ returns in glory."

Read "The Style of Vatican II."

Read "Vatican II: Myth and Reality."

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

A Reflection for the Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless
Ashley McKinlessJuly 08, 2025
No one ever expected a U.S.-born pope. In this first-ever I “Inside the Vatican” Deep Dive series, those who know him best reveal who Pope Leo XIV—“the American pope”—really is. In Episode 1, we hear from the genealogist who uncovered his Louisiana roots, a teacher, and fellow Augustinian friars
Inside the VaticanJuly 08, 2025
The Vatican Synod office has released a set of guidelines for local churches and bishops to implement the proposals of the recent Synod on Synodality.
When Miami native Tom Llamas was named “NBC Nightly News” anchor following the retirement of Lester Holt, one of the first phone calls he placed was to the rector/president of his Jesuit high school alma mater.