The Vatican Council

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 4

The Vatican Council

Thaw at The Vatican. The Second Session of the Vatican Council. Bernard Wall and Barbara Wall. Gollancz. 223 pp. Councils have been summoned only very rarely in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, but in all cases far-reaching decisions have been made. The Council of Trent (A.D. 1545-1563) adopted the Vulgate, Jerome’s revised New Testament, but it was to be another three hundred years before the next ecumenical gathering at the First Vatican Council of 1869-1870. This Council caused great consternation in Protestant circles on account of the definition of Papal infallibility. There were also some repercussions within certain areas of the Roman Catholic Church itself, but the Pope was established in a very powerful position, supported by a greatly strengthened Curia. If it could be said that the First Vatican Council established the position of the Pope, it might equally be said that the Second is going a long way towards establishing the position of the Bishops. The non-Italian

Clergy are making it clear that they desire a greater part in the government of their Church, and that they want certain changes to be made.

There are chapters dealing with the events which led up to the summoning of the Council, abbreviated accounts of the principal speeches and speakers on such subjects as: “The Church,” and the question of the part played by the Bishops. There are interesting human sidelights such as the description of two thousand Bishops pouring out of St. Peters at noon each day. There is an appendix which includes lists of Lay Auditors, Observers, Special Guests, the geographical distribution of Bishops attending the Council and a useful summary of the Eastern Churches and their relationships with Rome. There is an index restricted to the names of personages. This is essentially a book for those who require a precis of the events which took place at Rome in 1963, and it will be a useful addition to the bookshelf of all interested in Church affairs, be they Roman Catholic or Protestant.