Vatican II's Contested Legacy

The most momentous religious event of the 20th century was the Second Vatican Council. Its impact continues to reverberate into the 21st century and shows no sign of diminishing. Modern electronic communication has given the Council’s impact an immediacy and universality that no council before it enjoyed. The pastoral style and thematic coherence of the Council’s teaching has aided its dissemination and reception. The Council ran from 1962 to 1965; so now, in 2014, the commemorations are still in full swing. Commemorations? Perhaps “contestations” would be more apt. The real significance of the Council, the correct interpretation of its teaching, and therefore its legacy for the Roman Catholic Church today, has been disputed ever since.