The Letter and the Spirit: On the Forgotten Documents of Vatican II

At the time the expectations related to the Council were rather high. At

its convocation Pope John XXIII expressed clearly that he expected

nothing less than a new Pentecost from it. In the very last speech of

the first session of the Council, Christopher Butler OSB stated: “the

theology of the Church is in some way being reborn’ and he reminded the

council fathers to see: "we have the opportunity to show to the eyes of

the whole world that are turned upon us a new vision of the unchanging

Christ’.

What has become of this vision, what has become of the spirit and the

letter of the Council more than fifty years after its closure? In this

volume we have identified several areas where the question of the

interpretation of the Council seems by no means settled. They regard

divine revelation and human freedom, mission and dialogue, education and

vocation, lay and ordained ministry in the Church. In light of the

developments since the Council which rise new questions, the

interpretation of both, the forgotten and unforgotten documents of

Vatican II continues in critical reflection and fruitful discussion of

still unresolved but all the more pressing issues.