The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) was one of the greatest events of the twentieth century. Men and women from all over the world participated in its sessions and the implementation of its decisions. Many others, from a wide variety of cultures and creeds, followed its developments through the international media. Vatican II was the first Church council ever to be covered by radio and television. Sixteen documents were written, debated, and approved by the Second Vatican Council. These texts are now part of the Church's ever-expanding body of official or magisterial teaching. The documents are quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nearly every papal letter and speech, countless theological and devotional publications, and any number of Sunday homilies. These records are the voice of Vatican II, the voice of the Church today. Unfortunately just thumbing through the constitutions, decrees, and declarations of Vatican II can be an intimidating experience, especially if you are unfamiliar with the technical language of theology and the distinctive style of official Church publications. Actually trying to read the documents can be even more frustrating. The author uses the old image of a Catholic Cathedral to guide the reader through the Vatican II documents. Imagine, then, the documents of Vatican II as a vast cathedral of paragraphs and footnotes. We will begin our study at its altar, the focal point in any Catholic church. A careful reading of the council's first document, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, will set the tone for the investigation into Vatican II's overall meaning and significance. Next, we will turn to the cathedral's ambo or pulpit, the place for the reading and proclamation of the Word of God. Here we will examine the council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. After that, we will move on to the cathedra, the bishop's chair, and into the nave, the main body of the structure where the people of God assemble in all their diversity. Chapters on the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and the documents dealing with Catholic identity, vocation, and ministry will show us why Vatican II has rightly been called the most Church-centered council in Christian history. In the final two chapters, we will look back through the nave and head toward the cathedral's great door. Here the people of God enter the world and engage it in service. The book concludes with an analysis of some of the most memorable texts produced by any council: the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World and the documents on topics such as Christian unity, religious freedom, and interfaith dialogue.
