The Documents of Vatican II

the long version

Highly acclaimed as the definitive reference work on Vatican II, The Documents of Vatican II features eminently readable translations of all sixteen council documents in English, together with introductions and commentaries by noted Roman Catholic bishops and Council experts and essays by Protestant and Orthodox clergy and scholars. Among the distinguished contributors are Avery Dulles, S.J., Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, Robert McAfee Brown, John Courtney Murray, S.J., William A. Norgren, R.A.F. MacKenzie, S.J., Clement J. McNaspy, Bishop G. Emmett Carter and Bishop Robert H. Mueller. The Second Vatican Council—1962-1965—remains a watershed event in the history of the Catholic Church. Catholics and many other Christians will want to return to the source documents to better understand the church of tradition and build a more responsive community of believers for the present and future. For those who serve the vision of Vatican II, we now have at our disposal a helpful translation of the documents accompanied by commentaries and notes from leading Catholic scholars and ecumenists that can lead to a more profound appropriation of the council's teaching. These tools, along with important supporting documentation of the council are a great gift to the church today.