From one of our foremost church historians comes an overarching analysis of the three modern Catholic councils—an assessment of what Catholicism was and has become today.
Catholic councils are meetings of bishops. In this unprecedented comparison of the three most recent meetings, John O'Malley traverses more than 450 years of Catholic history and examines the councils' most pressing and consistent concerns: questions of purpose, power, and relevance in a changing world. By offering new, sometimes radical, even troubling perspectives on these convocations, When Bishops Meet analyzes the evolution of the church itself.
The Catholic Church today is shaped by the historical arc starting from Trent in the sixteenth century to Vatican II. The roles of popes, the laity, theologians, and others have varied from the bishop-centered Trent, to Vatican I's declaration of papal infallibility, to a new balance of power in the mid-twentieth century. At Trent, lay people had direct influence on proceedings. By Vatican II, their presence was token. At each gathering, fundamental issues recurred: the relationship between bishops and the papacy, the very purpose of a council, and doctrinal change. Can the teachings of the church, by definition a conservative institution, change over time?
Councils, being ecclesiastical as well as cultural institutions, have always reflected and profoundly influenced their times. Readers familiar with John O'Malley's earlier work as well as those with no knowledge of councils will find this volume an indispensable guide for essential questions: Who is in charge of the church? What difference did the councils make, and will there be another?
- 241 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
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Information
Topic
Theology & ReligionSubtopic
20th Century History
part
one
ree
Great
Issues
1
What
Do
Councils
Do?
B
eginning
in
the
earliest
centuries
of
Chris-
tianity,
councils
adopted
forms
and
procedures
based
on
those
in
use
in
the
secular
institutions
of
their
day,
and
they
continued
to
use
them
until
Vatican
II,
though
of
course
with
modifications
and
adap-
tations
as
circumstances
required.
e
forms
gave
councils
their
structure
and
determined
their
goals.
e
Council
of
Trent
inherited
the
traditional
pat-
tern
and
for
the
most
part
conformed
to
it.
It
made
at
least
one
significant
modification,
which
Vatican
I
without
second
thought
adopted.
en
came
Vat-
ican
II.
With
only
vague
intimations
of
how
radical
they
were
being,
the
prelates
at
Vatican
II
completely
abandoned
the
traditional
forms
and
introduced
a
new
one.
With
that,
they
broke
with
almost
two
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part One: Three Great Issues
- Part Two: Participants
- Part Three: Impact and Future
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Index
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Yes, you can access When Bishops Meet by John W. O'Malley in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & 20th Century History. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.