A wonderful conference at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut is the latest in academic reengagement with Vatican II. Columnist Michael Sean Winters hopes to see more theologians seize that momentum.
Laid bare, participants said, were tensions over muddy communications, lack of consultation, low clergy morale, unilateral initiatives by Archbishop Cordileone, and his embrace of "a pre-Vatican II church."
Faith Seeking Understanding: Professional theologians and ethicists have spent years studying and teaching in their fields. They are needed to help people — both lay and ordained — understand what it is we say we believe.
To keep silent about the truths of the Catholic faith or to teach the contrary is a form of religious deception that comes from the anti-Christ, said Cardinal Gerhard Muller.
In a lengthy reflection meant to deepen the church's understanding of synodality, the International Theological Commission says the theological concept is manifested "in the active participation of all [the church's] members." The baptized share a common mission and dignity, the document says.
The tables have turned under Pope Francis. And a new type of Catholic has formed: the conservative dissenter. In the past, conservatives prided themselves on loyalty to the pope and being in lockstep with all papal teachings, while progressives called for limits to papal power.
Book review: With his last book, Archbishop John R. Quinn strikes a balance in the conflicting interpretations of the First Vatican Council and its teaching on infallibility.
Distinctly Catholic: In Revered and Reviled, the book he finished before his death, Archbishop John R. Quinn renews appreciation for the complementarity of the two Vatican Councils.
