The Dispatch

History’s view of Vatican II

October 11, 2022 Michael J. Miller 2

The famous black-and-white photograph of the Second Vatican Council in session, taken from a high balcony at the back of Saint Peter’s Basilica, shows more than 2,000 Council Fathers standing at their places in slanted […]

The Dispatch

The True Spirit of Vatican II

July 27, 2020 Douglas Bushman 3

As far as I know, no participant in the Second Vatican Council summed up its goals or described its spirit as addressing the question whether God’s truth and love are effective, that is, whether they […]

Vatican II and Religious Liberty

January 14, 2013 Omar F.A. Gutierrez 0

Of all the documents produced by the Second Vatican Council, none had more revisions, saw more debate, or garnered more controversy than the “Declaration on Religious Liberty” Dignitatis Humanae. This is in part because the […]

Why Did Vatican II Ignore Communism?

December 10, 2012 Edward Pentin 12

As the Church celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, there is one lesser-known—and some would argue highly disturbing—aspect of the Council that has tended to be overlooked: the absence […]

The Council and the Laity

November 13, 2012 Russell Shaw 0

A revolution in the Church’s thinking and practice regarding the Catholic laity has been underway for the past century or more. This striking development in theology and pastoral policy received by far its biggest boost […]