From 1962 to 1965, in perhaps the most important religious event of the twentieth century, the Second Vatican Council met to plot a course for the future of the Roman Catholic Church. After thousands of speeches, resolutions, and votes, the Council issued sixteen official documents on topics ranging from divine revelation to relations with non-Christians. But the meaning of the Second Vatican Council has been fiercely contested since before it was even over, and the years since its completion have seen a battle for the soul of the Church waged through the interpretation of Council documents. The Reception of Vatican II looks at the sixteen conciliar documents through the lens of those battles. Paying close attention to reforms and new developments, the essays in this volume show how the Council has been received and interpreted over the course of the more than fifty years since it concluded.The contributors to this volume represent various schools of thought but are united by a commitment to restoring the view that Vatican II should be interpreted and implemented in line with Church Tradition. The central problem facing Catholic theology today, these essays argue, is a misreading of the Council that posits a sharp break with previous Church teaching. In order to combat this reductive way of interpreting the Council, these essays provide a thorough, instructive overview of the debates it inspired.

AcknowledgmentsContributorsIntroductionPart One: The Constitutions1. Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Sacred Liturgy) - Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B.2. Lumen Gentium (The Church) - Guy Mansini, O.S.B.3. Dei Verbum (Divine Revelation) - William M. Wright IV4. Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the Modern World) - Thomas Joseph White, O.P.Part Two: The Decrees5. Christus Dominus (The Pastoral Office of the Bishops in the Church) - Matthew Levering6. Presbyterorum Ordinis (The Ministry and Life of Priests) - David Vincent Meconi, S.J.7. Optatam Totius (The Training of Priests) - Bishop Robert Barron8. Perfectae Caritatis (The Up-to-Date Renewal of Religious Life) - Sara Butler, M.S.B.T.9. Apostolicam Actuositatem (The Apostolate of Lay People) - Michele M. Schumacher10. Ad Gentes (The Church's Missionary Life) - Ralph Martin11. Unitatis Redintegratio (Ecumenism) - Matthew J. Ramage12. Orientalium Ecclesiarum (The Eastern Catholic Churches) -Adam A. J. DeVille13. Inter Mirifica (The Means of Social Communication) - Daniella Zsupan-JeromePart Three: The Declarations14. Dignitatis Humanae (Freedom of Religion) - Nicholas J. Healy, Jr.15. Gravissimum Educationis (Christian Education) - Paige E. Hochschild16. Nostra Aetate (The Relations of the Church to Non-Christian Religions) - Gavin D'CostaIndex