Second Vatican Council

Pope Francis: Christianity is incompatible with anti-Semitism
By Alessandro Speciale — June 24, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) After years of simmering tensions with Pope Benedict XVI, Jewish groups say they have a partner in Pope Francis following their first official meeting on Monday.

An old-school confessional revives saying ‘I’m sorry’
By Ann Marie Somma — April 29, 2013
DERBY, Conn. (RNS) The Rev. Janusz Kukulka can't say his parishioners are sinning more -- but they sure are lining up at the new confessional booth that's decidedly old-school.

Senior cardinal says Francis will bring new life to Vatican II
By Alessandro Speciale — April 12, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis has ushered in a new phase in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, shifting the focus of the Catholic Church from the concerns of the industrialized North to the “problems of the Southern hemisphere."

Benedict intends to live ‘hidden from the world’
By Alessandro Speciale — February 14, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday that he intends to live "hidden from the world'' in retirement even as his closest aide will assist his successor.

Pope Benedict’s American fan club full of evangelicals
By Daniel Burke — February 12, 2013
(RNS) Not all Catholics appreciated Pope Benedict XVI's staunch defense of Christian orthodoxy, traditional marriage and life from conception to natural death. But American evangelicals sure did.

GUEST COMMENTARY: The Vatican’s strong defense of the Jews
By Philip A. Cunningham — January 28, 2013
(RNS) The head of a schismatic traditionalists recently labeled Jews ``enemies of the Church.'' And while that statement could have sparked an interfaith crisis, it's instead motivated Catholic leaders to directly repudiate him with strongly worded pledges of friendship with Jews.

Vatican admits stalemate in talks with traditional SSPX group
By Alessandro Speciale — January 22, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A senior Vatican official admitted that years of talks between the Vatican and a breakaway group of ultra-traditionalist Catholics have led to a “stalemate." By Alessandro Speciale.

Four priests, four friends: Bishops witness historic changes in Catholic life
By Peggy Fletcher Stack — January 9, 2013
(RNS) Released from the Catholic cocoon of seminary in 1962, the four young priests faced a church on the brink of volcanic reform with the opening of the Second Vatican Council. After being schooled in a Vatican I church, the foursome would step down as powerful American prelates, five decades later, as quintessential Vatican II men. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.

Vatican: Calling Jews ‘enemies’ of the church is unacceptable
By Alessandro Speciale — January 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Catholic Church reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue with Jews after the head of a breakaway conservative group labeled Jews as "enemies of the Church.'' By Alessandro Speciale.

Pope Paul VI inches one step closer to sainthood
By Alessandro Speciale — December 21, 2012
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Paul VI, who guided the Catholic Church through a tumultuous period of change in the 1960s and 70s, took a crucial first step toward possible sainthood when Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday (Dec. 20) recognized his predecessor's "heroic virtues." By Alessandro Speciale.

Vatican II: The beginning of the end of Catholic anti-Semitism
By A. James Rudin — October 25, 2012

(RNS) In the 50 years since the Second Vatican Council, much has been accomplished in building a new relationship between Catholics and Jews. What Pope John XXIII began in 1962 represented the beginning of the end of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism within the Catholic Church. By A. James Rudin. 

Pope marks 50th anniversary of Vatican II with warnings of spiritual ‘desert’
By Alessandro Speciale — October 11, 2012

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI joined a small remnant of living "council fathers" to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, a watershed event that dramatically altered the life and outlook of the Catholic Church. By Alessandro Speciale.

ANALYSIS: 50 years ago, Vatican II changed the Catholic Church — and the world
By John Pope / The Times-Picayune — October 10, 2012

(RNS) In a massive display of solemn ecclesiastical pomp, hundreds of Catholic leaders strode into St. Peter’s Basilica 50 years ago, the start of an historic three-year assembly that would change the way the world’s largest Christian body viewed itself and the rest of the world. By John Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI convenes bishops to confront ‘tsunami’ of secularism
By Alessandro Speciale — October 8, 2012

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Fifty years after the Catholic Church convened the Second Vatican Council to confront internal changes and challenges, hundreds of bishops gathered at the Vatican to discuss how to stem the tide of secularization and rekindle faith in contemporary society. By Alessandro Speciale.

Guest Voices: 50 years after Vatican II, should Pope John XXIII be a saint?
By Greg Tobin — October 2, 2012

(RNS) Fifty years after he opened the revolutionary Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII, known as the Good Pope, is on the verge of being declared a saint. Perhaps the key question is: Should he be? By Greg Tobin.

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