Free Republic

Forty years on, we are only just beginning to understand the significance of the Council, says Fr Ian Ker. And we are still a long way from implementing it It is 40 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council was convoked by Pope John XXIII for two purposes: the renewal or aggiornamento of the Catholic Church and Christian reunion - two goals which are surely integrally related. The Pope expressed the hope that it would be the beginning of a new Pentecost for the Church. There have, indeed, been substantial achievements. A nineteenth century Catholic...