"Vatican Council II: A Non-Neutral History"

Rome, July 3, 2006 (www.chiesa) - "Upon release of the latest volume, an international pool of scholars directed by Giuseppe Alberigo brings the History of Vatican Council II to a close," writes Sandro Magister. Alberigo's main inspiration, he says, is found in Giuseppe Dossetti, with whom he has been a close collaborator for decades in Bologna. This History of Vatican II, he writes, "is, in no way, neutral":

"This History's principle thesis is that the Council's prime elements are not the very texts it produced and promulgated. Priority, in fact, is given to the event itself. The true Council is found in her 'spirit'. It is not reducible to, but rather, vastly superior to the 'letter' of the Council's texts."

Why, we know commentators on this blog who would just LOVE Dossetti's perspective. Magister continues:

"What's more, the Council's 'spirit' is identified with John XXIII's vision of a 'new Pentecost' for the Church and the world. Meanwhile, the 'letter' probably meant the harnessing of the assizes carried out by Paul VI, the pope who in effect promulgated each and every Council document. The differences between popes John and Paul are given as immeasurable. Almost as if the Montinian 'letter' had suffocated and betrayed the Roncallian 'spirit' of the Council."

There's more to the review. Read the rest here.