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The Inside Story of Vatican II: A Firsthand Account of the Council's Inner Workings
Only two years after the Second Vatican Council concluded in 1965, Catholics around the world welcomed the publication of The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber, a history of the Council published worldwide in four languages. Widely hailed for its balanced, factual reporting, this eye-opening insider's account was written by Rev. Ralph M. Wiltgen, a priest and professional journalist who was an eyewitness with unparalleled access to the principal figures and events of the Council.
The Inside Story of Vatican II is a revised, updated edition of that ground-breaking contemporary account, which details in particular the crucial influence on the Council's proceedings exerted by its German-speaking bishops. As Catholics continue to debate the meaning and impact of Vatican II, they will find this book an indispensable guide for understanding what actually took place there behind the scenes.
The Rev. Father Ralph M. Wiltgen, S.V.D. (1921-2002) was a Divine Word Missionary and journalist who founded the independent, multilingual Council News Service to report on the events of Vatican II.
The Inside Story of Vatican II is a revised, updated edition of that ground-breaking contemporary account, which details in particular the crucial influence on the Council's proceedings exerted by its German-speaking bishops. As Catholics continue to debate the meaning and impact of Vatican II, they will find this book an indispensable guide for understanding what actually took place there behind the scenes.
The Rev. Father Ralph M. Wiltgen, S.V.D. (1921-2002) was a Divine Word Missionary and journalist who founded the independent, multilingual Council News Service to report on the events of Vatican II.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 23, 2016
Now I understand some of the more obscure "Ecclesia Dei Rorsus Percutit" references!
July 3, 2013
A good primer on all the shenanigans which went on behind the scenes at V2 and how so many ambiguities had to end up in the final texts.
June 7, 2024
AN IMPORTANT, DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL
Rev. Ralph M. Wiltgen (1921-2002) was a Divine Word Missionary and journalist; he wrote in the 1978 Preface, “For writing this history I have had access to a complete set of all official correspondence, documents, and working papers received by the Council Fathers from the Council’s secretariat. I had access to all correspondence and documentation sent by the Rhine group to its members as well as additional documentation from other groups and episcopal conferences, the minutes of meetings, private correspondence, etc. I also met with numberless Council Fathers… Being based in Rome, I could see the entire Council unfold before my eyes. What I saw and what I heard, and the facts that I ferreted out, I now pass on to you.”
He notes, “it became frighteningly apparent to the liberal element in the Council that their proposal for individual lists by episcopal conferences was no real safeguard against ultraconservative domination of the commissions… The six European countries, which now formed an alliance in fact, if not in name, found additional liberal-minded candidates among cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of other countries… This list … came to be called the ‘international’ list and contained 109 carefully picked candidates so placed as to guarantee broad representation of the European alliance on the ten commissions… The results of these elections were eminently satisfying to the European alliance… After this election, it was not too hard to foresee which group was well enough organized to take over leadership at the Second Vatican Council. The Rhine had begun to flow into the Tiber.” (Pg. 10-13)
Wiltgen reports, “Cardinal Ottaviani addressed the Council to protest against the drastic changes which were being suggested in the Mass… he exceeded the ten-minute limit which all had been requested to observe… When Cardinal Ottaviani reached fifteen minutes, Cardinal Alfrink rang the warning bell. But the speaker … did not notice the bell, or purposely ignored it. At a signal from Cardinal Alfrink, a technician switched off the microphone… Cardinal Ottaviani stumbled back to his seat in humiliation. The most powerful cardinal in the Roman Curia has been silenced, and the Council Fathers clapped with glee.” (Pg. 27-28)
He notes, “the question of the vernacular came up again and again… A simple solution, one might have thought, would be to let those countries have the liturgy in the vernacular whose bishops favored this, and let those whose bishops preferred Latin retain that language. But, like most simple solutions, this one did not go deep enough… The Curia … correctly surmised that, if it agreed to the principle of local jurisdiction in liturgical matters, a precedent would be established enabling episcopal conferences to gain still wider powers of direction in other areas as well.” (Pg. 49-50)
He laments, “The liberals had won the election encounter; they had won the debate on liturgy; and now they had won the debate on revelation. They became increasingly conscious of the strength of their numbers. And the conservatives became less gradually less sure of their position.” (Pg. 64)
He recounts, “Several days before the end of the first session, Father Hans Küng… was invited to speak at the U.S. Bishops’ Press Panel… Father Küng asserted jubilantly that what had once been the dream of an avant-garde group in the Church had ‘spread and permeated the entire atmosphere of the Church, due to the Council’… In conclusion, he said that ‘perhaps the most decisive outcome of the first session is the realization on the part of the bishops that they, and not merely the Roman Curia, make up the Church.’” (Pg. 77-78)
Before he second session, “A meeting of Council Fathers from so many nations was bound to interest the press, and a succession of newspaper stories appeared with references to a ‘conspiracy’ and an ‘attack’ upon the Roman Curia and some of its representatives. Some of the Council Fathers were styled ‘progressives,’ others ‘traditionalists,’ still others ‘anti-progressives.’ It was insinuated that the … conference was intended to counteract the possible ‘personal inclinations’ of the new Pontiff [Paul VI] in regard to the direction taken by the Council, which might make it deviate from the path which Pope John had indicated.” (Pg. 109-110)
He states, “It was clear at this point how the discussions would develop. There would be a strong German influence which would make itself felt in nearly every Council decision and statement of any importance… [With] the drastic changes that Pope Paul VI had made in the Rules of Procedure, and the promotion of [liberal] Cardinals … to position of Moderators, domination by the European alliance was assured.” (Pg. 115)
He notes, “In an exclusive interview, Archbishop Lefebvre… [said] that it was ‘a new kind of collectivism invading the Church.’ The present tendency in the Council hall, he said, was to make national episcopal conferences so strong that ‘individual bishops would … lose their initiative… clergy and laity would be in a quandry, not knowing whether to follow their own bishop of the conference.’” (Pg. 124)
Of a schema on the Virgin Mary, “Father [Karl] contended … that the schema… ‘presents certain teachings as though they already belong to the doctrine of the church...’ … What he attacked especially was the schema’s teaching on the mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the title ‘Mediatrix of all graces’… This teaching was not proposed as a dogma of faith, but rather as a doctrine commonly held by Catholics.” (Pg. 127)
During a discussion of a schema on bishops, Wiltgen recalls, “Following the example of many Council Fathers, I left my seat halfway through the meeting and went to the coffee shop… Archbishop D’Souza… assured me that criticism of the schema would increase as days went by. ‘No one has anything to fear from giving us bishops more power; we are not children.’” (Pg. 158-159)
He comments, “It was difficult for the public to understand how the bishops could pour such severe criticism upon the Roman Curia which had given those bishops, the Pope, and the Church so many decades, generations, and centuries of service… In the minds of many Council Fathers, the purpose of the Second Vatican Council was to balance the teaching of the First Vatican Council on the papal primacy by an explicit doctrine on episcopal collegiality.” (Pg. 162-163)
He explains, “The failures of the First Vatican Council in promoting Christian unity hung like an ominous cloud over the second. But Pope John XXIII, in his optimism, appeared to ignore them… The religious climate in the world of Pope John XXIII was very different from what it had been in the days of Pope Pius IX. In the intervening years, the ecumenical movement… had taken firm hold of Christian communities around the world. Many factors had contributed to the development of this truly providential movement. One was biblical research, which brought together Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic scholars… Next came the World Council of Churches…” (Pg. 173)
He suggests, “For a long time it appeared as though the European alliance would have undisputed control over the Council. This could have proved unfortunate, because power… has a way of being abused when a near monopoly is obtained over it. As the Council progressed, however, at least half a dozen organized opposition groups came into being… forcing the majority to take a closer and more careful look at schemas before accepting them.” (Pg. 215-216) He adds, “Father Ratzinger … mentioned that the liberals had thought they would have a free hand at the Council after obtaining a majority in the Council Commissions. But… they began to notice some resistance to their proposals…” (Pg. 219)
He states, “The lack of any official daily record for the Council Fathers was one of the great weaknesses of Vatican II… It was very strange that the Council Fathers… [who] solemnly promulgated a decree on communications media in which they spoke about the right to information, were unable for lack of united effort to properly and officially inform themselves about their own Council.” (Pg. 222-223)
He notes, “on the inerrancy of the Scriptures, 184 Council Fathers asked for the deletion of the phrase ‘pertaining to salvation’... They argued that the phrase seemed to confine the inerrancy of the Scriptures to matters concerning faith and morals. The Commission decided that the schema as it stood did not in fact restrict the inerrancy of Sacred Scripture, and again it decided to make no changes in the text.” (Pg. 265-266)
He argues, “A careful comparison … made it perfectly clear that some 90 percent of the changes and additions had come from … the [liberal] Innsbruck conference. This was proof enough that one of the purposes of reducing schemas to short propositions had been to render possible the introduction of more of the ideas of the bishops and … the European alliance.” (Pg. 337)
He records, “The liberals had four major reasons for dissatisfaction with Pope Paul VI during the final week of the third session… The Dutch quickly invented a graphic term for this period of the Council’s history: ‘Black Week.’” (Pg. 356-357) Later, he adds, “The four setbacks which the liberals had suffered during Black Week made them realize that their control over the Council was not so absolute as they had imagined. And the conservatives, for their part, drew fresh courage from the liberals’ perplexity.” (Pg. 375)
He concludes, “Many Catholic readers may remember the immediate aftermath of the Council. It was a time when bishops contradicted bishops, altar railings and tabernacles were ripped from their places, liturgies were treated as a matter of style and taste, and even some of our most respected theologians appeared to be as confused as everyone else. Some saw this as liberation, others as apostasy… After the … Council closed… Two opposing views arose. One focused on the text of the Council while keeping in mind the timeless teaching of the Church. The other assumed the text of the Council was a compromise with an antiquated tradition; as a compromise, it did not adequately express the real ‘spirit of Vatican II.’” (Pg. 442-443)
This book will be “must reading” (and not just for “conservatives” or “traditionalists”) wanting to know more about the Second Vatican Council.
Rev. Ralph M. Wiltgen (1921-2002) was a Divine Word Missionary and journalist; he wrote in the 1978 Preface, “For writing this history I have had access to a complete set of all official correspondence, documents, and working papers received by the Council Fathers from the Council’s secretariat. I had access to all correspondence and documentation sent by the Rhine group to its members as well as additional documentation from other groups and episcopal conferences, the minutes of meetings, private correspondence, etc. I also met with numberless Council Fathers… Being based in Rome, I could see the entire Council unfold before my eyes. What I saw and what I heard, and the facts that I ferreted out, I now pass on to you.”
He notes, “it became frighteningly apparent to the liberal element in the Council that their proposal for individual lists by episcopal conferences was no real safeguard against ultraconservative domination of the commissions… The six European countries, which now formed an alliance in fact, if not in name, found additional liberal-minded candidates among cardinals, archbishops, and bishops of other countries… This list … came to be called the ‘international’ list and contained 109 carefully picked candidates so placed as to guarantee broad representation of the European alliance on the ten commissions… The results of these elections were eminently satisfying to the European alliance… After this election, it was not too hard to foresee which group was well enough organized to take over leadership at the Second Vatican Council. The Rhine had begun to flow into the Tiber.” (Pg. 10-13)
Wiltgen reports, “Cardinal Ottaviani addressed the Council to protest against the drastic changes which were being suggested in the Mass… he exceeded the ten-minute limit which all had been requested to observe… When Cardinal Ottaviani reached fifteen minutes, Cardinal Alfrink rang the warning bell. But the speaker … did not notice the bell, or purposely ignored it. At a signal from Cardinal Alfrink, a technician switched off the microphone… Cardinal Ottaviani stumbled back to his seat in humiliation. The most powerful cardinal in the Roman Curia has been silenced, and the Council Fathers clapped with glee.” (Pg. 27-28)
He notes, “the question of the vernacular came up again and again… A simple solution, one might have thought, would be to let those countries have the liturgy in the vernacular whose bishops favored this, and let those whose bishops preferred Latin retain that language. But, like most simple solutions, this one did not go deep enough… The Curia … correctly surmised that, if it agreed to the principle of local jurisdiction in liturgical matters, a precedent would be established enabling episcopal conferences to gain still wider powers of direction in other areas as well.” (Pg. 49-50)
He laments, “The liberals had won the election encounter; they had won the debate on liturgy; and now they had won the debate on revelation. They became increasingly conscious of the strength of their numbers. And the conservatives became less gradually less sure of their position.” (Pg. 64)
He recounts, “Several days before the end of the first session, Father Hans Küng… was invited to speak at the U.S. Bishops’ Press Panel… Father Küng asserted jubilantly that what had once been the dream of an avant-garde group in the Church had ‘spread and permeated the entire atmosphere of the Church, due to the Council’… In conclusion, he said that ‘perhaps the most decisive outcome of the first session is the realization on the part of the bishops that they, and not merely the Roman Curia, make up the Church.’” (Pg. 77-78)
Before he second session, “A meeting of Council Fathers from so many nations was bound to interest the press, and a succession of newspaper stories appeared with references to a ‘conspiracy’ and an ‘attack’ upon the Roman Curia and some of its representatives. Some of the Council Fathers were styled ‘progressives,’ others ‘traditionalists,’ still others ‘anti-progressives.’ It was insinuated that the … conference was intended to counteract the possible ‘personal inclinations’ of the new Pontiff [Paul VI] in regard to the direction taken by the Council, which might make it deviate from the path which Pope John had indicated.” (Pg. 109-110)
He states, “It was clear at this point how the discussions would develop. There would be a strong German influence which would make itself felt in nearly every Council decision and statement of any importance… [With] the drastic changes that Pope Paul VI had made in the Rules of Procedure, and the promotion of [liberal] Cardinals … to position of Moderators, domination by the European alliance was assured.” (Pg. 115)
He notes, “In an exclusive interview, Archbishop Lefebvre… [said] that it was ‘a new kind of collectivism invading the Church.’ The present tendency in the Council hall, he said, was to make national episcopal conferences so strong that ‘individual bishops would … lose their initiative… clergy and laity would be in a quandry, not knowing whether to follow their own bishop of the conference.’” (Pg. 124)
Of a schema on the Virgin Mary, “Father [Karl] contended … that the schema… ‘presents certain teachings as though they already belong to the doctrine of the church...’ … What he attacked especially was the schema’s teaching on the mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the title ‘Mediatrix of all graces’… This teaching was not proposed as a dogma of faith, but rather as a doctrine commonly held by Catholics.” (Pg. 127)
During a discussion of a schema on bishops, Wiltgen recalls, “Following the example of many Council Fathers, I left my seat halfway through the meeting and went to the coffee shop… Archbishop D’Souza… assured me that criticism of the schema would increase as days went by. ‘No one has anything to fear from giving us bishops more power; we are not children.’” (Pg. 158-159)
He comments, “It was difficult for the public to understand how the bishops could pour such severe criticism upon the Roman Curia which had given those bishops, the Pope, and the Church so many decades, generations, and centuries of service… In the minds of many Council Fathers, the purpose of the Second Vatican Council was to balance the teaching of the First Vatican Council on the papal primacy by an explicit doctrine on episcopal collegiality.” (Pg. 162-163)
He explains, “The failures of the First Vatican Council in promoting Christian unity hung like an ominous cloud over the second. But Pope John XXIII, in his optimism, appeared to ignore them… The religious climate in the world of Pope John XXIII was very different from what it had been in the days of Pope Pius IX. In the intervening years, the ecumenical movement… had taken firm hold of Christian communities around the world. Many factors had contributed to the development of this truly providential movement. One was biblical research, which brought together Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic scholars… Next came the World Council of Churches…” (Pg. 173)
He suggests, “For a long time it appeared as though the European alliance would have undisputed control over the Council. This could have proved unfortunate, because power… has a way of being abused when a near monopoly is obtained over it. As the Council progressed, however, at least half a dozen organized opposition groups came into being… forcing the majority to take a closer and more careful look at schemas before accepting them.” (Pg. 215-216) He adds, “Father Ratzinger … mentioned that the liberals had thought they would have a free hand at the Council after obtaining a majority in the Council Commissions. But… they began to notice some resistance to their proposals…” (Pg. 219)
He states, “The lack of any official daily record for the Council Fathers was one of the great weaknesses of Vatican II… It was very strange that the Council Fathers… [who] solemnly promulgated a decree on communications media in which they spoke about the right to information, were unable for lack of united effort to properly and officially inform themselves about their own Council.” (Pg. 222-223)
He notes, “on the inerrancy of the Scriptures, 184 Council Fathers asked for the deletion of the phrase ‘pertaining to salvation’... They argued that the phrase seemed to confine the inerrancy of the Scriptures to matters concerning faith and morals. The Commission decided that the schema as it stood did not in fact restrict the inerrancy of Sacred Scripture, and again it decided to make no changes in the text.” (Pg. 265-266)
He argues, “A careful comparison … made it perfectly clear that some 90 percent of the changes and additions had come from … the [liberal] Innsbruck conference. This was proof enough that one of the purposes of reducing schemas to short propositions had been to render possible the introduction of more of the ideas of the bishops and … the European alliance.” (Pg. 337)
He records, “The liberals had four major reasons for dissatisfaction with Pope Paul VI during the final week of the third session… The Dutch quickly invented a graphic term for this period of the Council’s history: ‘Black Week.’” (Pg. 356-357) Later, he adds, “The four setbacks which the liberals had suffered during Black Week made them realize that their control over the Council was not so absolute as they had imagined. And the conservatives, for their part, drew fresh courage from the liberals’ perplexity.” (Pg. 375)
He concludes, “Many Catholic readers may remember the immediate aftermath of the Council. It was a time when bishops contradicted bishops, altar railings and tabernacles were ripped from their places, liturgies were treated as a matter of style and taste, and even some of our most respected theologians appeared to be as confused as everyone else. Some saw this as liberation, others as apostasy… After the … Council closed… Two opposing views arose. One focused on the text of the Council while keeping in mind the timeless teaching of the Church. The other assumed the text of the Council was a compromise with an antiquated tradition; as a compromise, it did not adequately express the real ‘spirit of Vatican II.’” (Pg. 442-443)
This book will be “must reading” (and not just for “conservatives” or “traditionalists”) wanting to know more about the Second Vatican Council.
October 9, 2023
Definitely not for everybody, but still an interesting read. It can feel a bit like tedium in spots, but overall recommend for those interest in this subject.
January 31, 2019
It was alright. The book focused too much on the daily blow-by-blow of committees, schemas, amendments, interventions, speeches, groups of bishops banding together to magnify their influence, secret letters to the Pope, etc. Not enough focus on the theological issues, although these were touched on. The influence of Rahner is noted. The liberals had a very strong influence on the running of the council. It was interesting to see how Ratzinger was in the liberal camp at that time! The book was originally titled "The Rhine Flows into the Tiber," because the liberal bishops came mostly from countries along the Rhine river. The author sort of implies that the liberals from Germany, France, Austria, and Belgium had undue influence because of certain machinations behind the scenes, yet I got the impression that the majority of bishops were already more liberal even before the council.
March 19, 2019
I first read this book in the late 1990s, to get a better grasp on what went on behind the scenes at Vatican II. Coming back to the text many years later, I find it much more of tabloid/lightweight treatment of the issues. I do think that Fr. Wiltgen has sympathies with the left, but he manages, for the most part, to put forward an impartial narrative.
The first two parts of the book flow well, as the first and second sessions seemed to be straightforward in their events, but the way he arranges the subjects covered in the third and fourth session is haphazard at best.
The book, as a whole, would benefit from an updated edition in which Fr. Wiltgen underscores the rightness/wrongness of his predictions at the time.
The first two parts of the book flow well, as the first and second sessions seemed to be straightforward in their events, but the way he arranges the subjects covered in the third and fourth session is haphazard at best.
The book, as a whole, would benefit from an updated edition in which Fr. Wiltgen underscores the rightness/wrongness of his predictions at the time.
November 23, 2019
This a detailed and impartial (perhaps even unbiased) account of the council proceedings.
April 20, 2023
I would recommend this book as a good first primer to get a general understanding of what unfolded at Vatican II, for it is mainly written as a day-by-day chronicling of the debates among the bishops and the events related to the revisions and promulgations of each schema.
The council is pointed to by many today as the root of the Church's current crisis and problems, though this book does help clear away the often superficial understanding of Vatican II that accompanies such claims. It is true that, in the general attitude that prevailed at the council and in its texts, the irenic and optimistic "new approach" of Ratzinger and other liberals did dominate, though there were moments when the conservatives got the upper hand and when Paul VI intervened to protect the integrity and inerrancy of Catholic doctrine from the more extreme liberal factions.
As demonstrated in the snapshots of interventions and quotes continually journaled in this book, the bishops of the time were in large part products of their milieu and the permeating Catholic culture (or lack thereof) of their host nations. For example, Hannan of New Orleans' strong defense of nuclear armament and his fight against the council's plans to condemn the possession and use of nuclear weapons reads today as a bizarre naivety, likely aided by Cold War fervour and a defense of the newly arising American imperialism.
One thing that is not stated explicitly but is revealed in anecdotes throughout the book is that one of the liberals' greatest aids at the council was having the sympathies of the mass media, who were ready to tarnish Paul VI as a tyrant "working against the spirit of the council" whenever he got in their way. The sections on Inter Mirifica I found most fascinating, for it was a particularly contentious document amongst the liberal faction and their media sympathizers, and they had to be publicly chastised for their rabid attempts to stop its promulgation. It remains one of the most relevant yet undiscussed texts to come out of the council.
The council is pointed to by many today as the root of the Church's current crisis and problems, though this book does help clear away the often superficial understanding of Vatican II that accompanies such claims. It is true that, in the general attitude that prevailed at the council and in its texts, the irenic and optimistic "new approach" of Ratzinger and other liberals did dominate, though there were moments when the conservatives got the upper hand and when Paul VI intervened to protect the integrity and inerrancy of Catholic doctrine from the more extreme liberal factions.
As demonstrated in the snapshots of interventions and quotes continually journaled in this book, the bishops of the time were in large part products of their milieu and the permeating Catholic culture (or lack thereof) of their host nations. For example, Hannan of New Orleans' strong defense of nuclear armament and his fight against the council's plans to condemn the possession and use of nuclear weapons reads today as a bizarre naivety, likely aided by Cold War fervour and a defense of the newly arising American imperialism.
One thing that is not stated explicitly but is revealed in anecdotes throughout the book is that one of the liberals' greatest aids at the council was having the sympathies of the mass media, who were ready to tarnish Paul VI as a tyrant "working against the spirit of the council" whenever he got in their way. The sections on Inter Mirifica I found most fascinating, for it was a particularly contentious document amongst the liberal faction and their media sympathizers, and they had to be publicly chastised for their rabid attempts to stop its promulgation. It remains one of the most relevant yet undiscussed texts to come out of the council.
July 25, 2024
Written by an American religious priest from Chicago living in Rome reporting on the entirety of the Second Vatican Council. This is the “HOW the sausage is made” book on Vatican II. Luckily, it came out in 1966 within a year of the Council’s Closing, so there is no agenda beyond reporting the most inside story possible of the Council’s proceedings that lay reporters & mainstream media didn’t properly cover or didn’t have access to. There is no revisionist history, there is no sensational writing. The most “sensational” part of the book is the title, but that was simply and plainly explained in the Preface as a modern-day play on a Classical Roman satirist’s reference to the Syrian-river Orontes metaphorically flowing into the Tiber as Syriac culture flowed into the Roman Capital around 100 AD. Similarly, Wiltgen formed the title for this book based on the unexpectedly large influence from the V2 Council Fathers of countries touching the Rhine River: Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and nearby Belgium. Perhaps because of spicy post-conciliar theological “battles,” in the 1990s the book was retitled the much blander “The Inside Story of Vatican II.” This book proved to be a great read coming on the heels of my completion of reading all the Vatican II documents. It was also a great introduction to how a Council of this sort operated at all, a topic I could not properly wrap my head around beyond that something was proposed, drafted, voted on, amended, and then voted on a final time for passage. This gets into HOW the proceedings went: who moderated, what commissions drafted what, what were the factions and coalitions, what did they want changed, who set what agendas, who voted what ways etc. It was also pleasantly a real page-turner: both because it was extremely fascinating and very readable with no fluff.
May 10, 2023
A fascinating, first-hand account of what Vat2 council fathers were actually thinking and discussing at the time of the council. Written and published around the close of the council, this is a must-read for anyone who wishes to really make sense of this polemical event that many hail and others decrie.
The book is largely structured as a collection of excerpts from interviews the author gave to council fathers and other figures of influence on the council. Personal opinion: there is some WILD stuff in there....if you think we have it bad today then go read some of the ideas they were floating then!
To give it a quick synopsis, German-speaking and Scandanavian cardinals and theologians essentially politically out-manouvered the old-guard Curia and the rest of the church at large, using their political influence and a heavy reliance on vague, "positive" language to wiggle their way into strategic positions of influence to enact their hidden agenda.
There are moments of hope, especially knowing the context of history (like the fact that Josef Ratzinger was a chief figure in this progressive camp and how his story ends), but by and large, the main consolation comes in seeing the problems of the council for what they are and not naively pretending that nefarious, heterodox agendas are absent from the story of Vat2.
Would not recommend reading straight through. Book is divided into different topics. I'd recommending picking the topics (ex. liturgy, nuclear weapons, ecumenism) that interest you and going from there. And don't read it everyday if you want to maintain some level of sanity.
The book is largely structured as a collection of excerpts from interviews the author gave to council fathers and other figures of influence on the council. Personal opinion: there is some WILD stuff in there....if you think we have it bad today then go read some of the ideas they were floating then!
To give it a quick synopsis, German-speaking and Scandanavian cardinals and theologians essentially politically out-manouvered the old-guard Curia and the rest of the church at large, using their political influence and a heavy reliance on vague, "positive" language to wiggle their way into strategic positions of influence to enact their hidden agenda.
There are moments of hope, especially knowing the context of history (like the fact that Josef Ratzinger was a chief figure in this progressive camp and how his story ends), but by and large, the main consolation comes in seeing the problems of the council for what they are and not naively pretending that nefarious, heterodox agendas are absent from the story of Vat2.
Would not recommend reading straight through. Book is divided into different topics. I'd recommending picking the topics (ex. liturgy, nuclear weapons, ecumenism) that interest you and going from there. And don't read it everyday if you want to maintain some level of sanity.
April 29, 2025
I give a solid 4 stars. It is a good, easily read, fairly neutral introduction to some of the inner workings of Vatican II. It focuses primarily on the processes of approving documents. The author uses language of "liberal" and "conservative," and while that may annoy some, it didn't tarnish my reading or take away much from what it reported. If you're looking for commentary or interpretation of events, this really isn't it. Some may not find it profitable for this reason; I didn't mind, as I really just wanted a basic overview of things and an insight into the history of documents. My biggest complaint is that, at times, the book seems to spend an incredible amount of time on very minor procedural matters and naming figures. However, this is a testament, I think, to its being far from sensational. Overall, I'm glad I read it, and I definitely learned things about the Council.
August 22, 2017
A penetrating and illuminating insight into the workings of Vatican II. Wiltgen lists the major players, the debates, the general focus and reveals the wonderful movement of the Spirit within the Catholic Church at that time. A good read.
February 13, 2024
Se entiende mejor lo que ha pasado después…
May 13, 2025
Czyta się jak thriller i bardzo pomagło utworzyć opinię o VII
August 22, 2025
Dobra pozycja porządkująca wiedzę o Soborze Watykańskim II.
January 13, 2016
I never got into the rhythm of the author and his expression of the content. To me the text was bogged down by details which could better have been used to support analysis. In other words, the author presented a detailed account of what went on but in my opinion, failed to divine their import.
'Vatican II- The Battle for Meaning' by Massimo was for me a better book on the subject. The provides enough details to make his point but not over encumber the reader while doing so.
'Vatican II- The Battle for Meaning' by Massimo was for me a better book on the subject. The provides enough details to make his point but not over encumber the reader while doing so.
March 27, 2017
TL;DR: 5 stars for importance of material, not for ease of reading.
This book took months of painful, paragraph by paragraph slogging. It reads as a "play by play," so to speak, of the council floor: "Cardinal X, speaking on behalf of 132 Y's, said...", "Cardinal A, speaking on behalf of 200 B's, said...", for example. I got lost many times, especially when we got into the thickets of subcommittees and commissions and how they overlapped (or didn't).
I still rate it 5/5 because, simply by presenting the daily debates, the formation of alliances, the behind the scenes meetings, the book thoroughly dismantles the comfortable Catholic position that, "The Council was really good; it was just implemented badly.". There are good things in the council, and that came out of the council, but it is inescapably clear that there were hostile takeovers from several ideological camps. There was subterfuge, manipulation of rules so that certain council fathers wouldn't be allowed to speak, and rejected propositions that somehow magically found their way back into the final version. I was appalled at the shoddy recordkeeping practices of the council; I hope that's been remedied for future councils.
Two other interesting elements of the book are 1) the relationship between the council and the press, and 2) presentation of topics with multiple valid positions. You can get a clearer idea of the destruction that the press wreaked on the American Church in Hitchcock's "Catholicism and Modernity," but Wiltgen explains the roots of it here. For the first time in Church history, council fathers had to concern themselves, on a daily basis, with information published by the press about the council. There were positives and negatives, but it gives you a sense of the confusion and chaos brought to the council. For the second point - the council covered topics that I didn't even know existed. Wiltgen presents all of the information well, but the section on religious life is a particularly good example. He shies away from arguing for a clear "right" answer. There are a couple of good answers, complicated by politics, motives, and agendas.
This book took months of painful, paragraph by paragraph slogging. It reads as a "play by play," so to speak, of the council floor: "Cardinal X, speaking on behalf of 132 Y's, said...", "Cardinal A, speaking on behalf of 200 B's, said...", for example. I got lost many times, especially when we got into the thickets of subcommittees and commissions and how they overlapped (or didn't).
I still rate it 5/5 because, simply by presenting the daily debates, the formation of alliances, the behind the scenes meetings, the book thoroughly dismantles the comfortable Catholic position that, "The Council was really good; it was just implemented badly.". There are good things in the council, and that came out of the council, but it is inescapably clear that there were hostile takeovers from several ideological camps. There was subterfuge, manipulation of rules so that certain council fathers wouldn't be allowed to speak, and rejected propositions that somehow magically found their way back into the final version. I was appalled at the shoddy recordkeeping practices of the council; I hope that's been remedied for future councils.
Two other interesting elements of the book are 1) the relationship between the council and the press, and 2) presentation of topics with multiple valid positions. You can get a clearer idea of the destruction that the press wreaked on the American Church in Hitchcock's "Catholicism and Modernity," but Wiltgen explains the roots of it here. For the first time in Church history, council fathers had to concern themselves, on a daily basis, with information published by the press about the council. There were positives and negatives, but it gives you a sense of the confusion and chaos brought to the council. For the second point - the council covered topics that I didn't even know existed. Wiltgen presents all of the information well, but the section on religious life is a particularly good example. He shies away from arguing for a clear "right" answer. There are a couple of good answers, complicated by politics, motives, and agendas.
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