As she attempts to interpret and implement the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church is re-examining her relationship with the world, other faiths, and fellow Christians.
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"It is difficult to say something new about the Second Vatican Council. At the same time, we must always refer back to the Council, which is a duty and a challenge for the Church and for the world. We feel the need to speak about the Council in order to interpret it correctly and defend it from tendentious interpretations."
Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 157, 1994.
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The second Vatican Council is unquestionably the most significant event for the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholic theology in the twentieth century.
As she attempts to interpret and implement the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church is re-examining her relationship with the world, other faiths, and fellow Christians.
This guide surveys the history of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the sixteen documents it officially generated. Selected materials are highlighted to help one investigate the vision of Catholic faith presented by the council from a theological perspective. The context of the council will also be treated, along with the visions articulated by Blessed Pope John XIII, who called the council, and Pope Paul VI, who presided over it and promulgated its documents. In addition we will study the council's continuity with the previous Tradition of Catholic theology.
"I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in." Pope John XXIII
“Aggiornamento” literally meaning "bringing up to date," was one of the key words used during Vatican II. It was used to mean a spirit of change and open-mindedness. It was the name given to the pontifical program of Pope John XXIII in a speech he gave on January 25, 1959. The conciliar document most often associated with the term is Gaudium et Spes.
(The rival term used was "ressourcement" which meant a return to earlier sources, traditions and symbols of the early Church. Many clergy could be categorized as belonging to either camp. Aggiornamentos were seen as looking to the future in a post-Tridentine Church, while ressourcement members were seen as attempting to look back to the church before Trent for a simpler liturgy and less Rome-orientated leadership style.)
Vatican II in plain English / by Bill Huebsch.
Theological highlights of Vatican II / Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI ; with an introduction by Thomas P. Rausch.
Receiving the Council by 
What happened at Vatican II / John W. O'Malley.
Vatican II by 
The church : the evolution of Catholicism / Richard P. McBrien.
Moral Theology in an Age of Renewal by 
Still Interpreting Vatican II by 
Sacramentum mundi: an encyclopedia of theology / edited by Karl Rahner ... [et al.]
Concise Sacramentum Mundi
Third millennium, Vatican II: a civilization of loveThird millennium, Vatican II: a civilization of love
