Synopses & Reviews
Many observers greeted the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) as the most important religious event in the twentieth century. Its implementation and impact are still being felt in the Catholic Church, the wider Christian world, and beyond. One sea change that Vatican II brought concerned Roman Catholic attitudes towards Judaism, Islam, and other religions. Gerald O'Collins breaks fresh ground by examining in detail five documents from the Council which embodied a new mindset about other religious faiths and mandated changes that quickly led to international and national dialogues between the Catholic Church and the followers of non-Christian religions. The book also includes chapters on the insights that prepared the way for the rethinking expressed by Vatican II, and on the follow-up to the Council's teaching found in the work of Pope John Paul II and Jacques Dupuis. O'Collins ably illustrates how the Council made a startling advance in official Catholic teaching about followers of other living faiths. Carefully researched, the book is written in the clear, accessible style that readers of previous works by O'Collins will recognize.
About the Author
Gerald O'Collins, SJ took his PhD at the University of Cambridge and taught at the Gregorian University (Rome) from 1973 to 2006, where he was also Dean of the Faculty of Theology (1985-91). He has written or co-written sixty published books (including
Rethinking Fundamental Theology,
Jesus Our Priest, and
Salvation for All), authored hundreds of articles in professional and popular journals, and lectured at many universities and colleges in the UK, Ireland, USA, India, New Zealand, his native Australia, and elsewhere. As well as receiving numerous doctorates and other honorary awards, in 2006 he was created a Companion of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest civil honour granted through the Australian government.
Table of Contents
1. From the New Testament to the Middle Ages
2. From Gregory VII to the Twentieth Century
3. Sacrosanctum Concilium and Lumen Gentium on the Religious Others
4. Nostra Aetate on Other Religions
5. Ad Gentes on Other Religions
6. The Contribution of Gaudium et Spes
7. Putting It Together
8. John Paul II on Other Religions
9. Jacques Dupuis s Contribution to Interreligious Dialogue
10. Final Perspectives