Vatican II After Fifty Years | National Catholic Reporter

Vatican II After Fifty Years | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: Considering that a young theologian/priest named Wojtila was one of the dissenting voices at the Council, it is no shock that he narrowed it has much as he could, with Benedict carrying on some of the narrowing and begining to recapture some of the "Spirit of Vatican II."  It is absolutely correct that Francis is a pope of the Council.  He was not one of St. John Paul's narrowers - he was in that generation of priests which found Vatican II a new and exciting thing, long before the JPII priests and bishops.  Let us see if he can counter that counter-revolution we have been suffering under.  Maybe he will even undo the retranslations of the English and Spanish Masses.  Beyond that, it is priests and theologians who read the Council documents.  Aside from what we are fed from these sources, no Council literature is really a popular thing - indeed, when it is, life is sometimes bad - as when those who disagreed with Calchedon's premises were butchered in Alexandria as the result of its edicts.  Little by little, religion has stopped being a blood sport - which is progress.  Letting Council Documents gather dust is an acceptable part of that.