Unfinished Journey

Austen Ivereigh is Deputy Editor of the Tablet, the UK's leading Catholic publication.

The Second Vatican Council, which ended thirty-five years ago, promised so much: a new vision of a reformed Church aware of its social, theological and ecumenical responsibilities; a truly conciliar Church with collegial structures. However, this vision seems to have evaporated and many of the promised reforms have been truncated or have not happened at all. The Vatican remains intensely bureaucratic. Theologians are silenced and the effect of clerical scandal seems to have led Church leaders to dig in and see the deposit of faith as something static. Once again the Church believes it has a monopoly on the truth and millions of people feel marginalized and excluded. Britain's long-established Catholic weekly, The Tablet , has fought for the spirit and values of Vatican II in a way that no other journal has done. It has criticised the Church (Humanae Vitae) and has condemned corruption, but has also supported the Church where it has been right to do so.These essays come from a truly international cast of contributors who cover the Church of Vatican II but above all give us prophesy of where this vision may still lead the Church and the people of God. This is a Church semper reformanda.

Introduction by Austen IvereighAbout the contributorsPart I Taking stock1 The Second Vatican Council: of happy memory - and hope? Nicholas Lash2 The "Open Church" 40 years later: a reckoning Michael Novak3 Tradition and reaction: historical resources for a contemporary renewal Eamon DuffyPart II The Unfinished Journey4 On Having the Courage of One's Convictions Hans Küng5 Images of the Church: from "perfect society" to "God's people on pilgrimage" Rembert Weakland6 Wanted: the other half of the Church Joan Chittister7 Augustine, Aquinas or the Gospel sine glossa? Divisions over Gaudium et spes Joseph Komonchak8 Power and powerlessness in the Church: the chance for renewal Timothy Radcliffe9 Religious freedom: the limits of progress Michael Walsh10 Where does Catholic social teaching go from here? Clifford Longley11 The Scientific Search for the Soul John Cornwell12 The place of philosophy in the life of the Church: a time for renewal John Haldane13 Captivated ambivalence: how the Church copes (or not) with the media Lavinia Byrne14 The Church and the media : beyond Inter mirifica Alain WoodrowPart III Signposts from beyond15 A lead from Asia Tom C. Fox16 How base communities started: Paraguay's Christian Agrarian Leagues Margaret Hebblethwaite17 Truth beyond division: Eastern meditation and Western Christianity Shirley de Boulay18 Oscar Romero, bishop-martyr and model of Church Julian FilochowskiPart IV Postscript19 A tribute to John Wilkins Hugo Young