The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!


Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ratzinger on Vatican II

For some time now I've been searching for a copy of the then Father Joseph Ratzinger's book, Theological Highlights of Vatican II. Published in 1966 by Paulist Press it offers the young theologian's impressions of the Second Vatican Council and his theological insights on the documents it produced. Because he attended all four sessions of the Council as a peritus, or advisor, to Cardinal Frings of Cologne, Germany, the future pope was certainly able to view the work of the Council from a privileged position. Unfortunately, the book has been out of print for years and used copies were difficult to obtain at a reasonable price. And so a few years ago I simply gave up looking for it. But then yesterday a friend sent me an email letting me know that Paulist Press had republished the book in 2009 and that it was once again available. I ordered it from Amazon this morning.

I look forward to reading it, since the Holy Father has really been very consistent in his support for the Council and its aims. In recent years one of his major concerns has been the misinterpretation of the Council's work by so many who oddly claim that the "spirit of Vatican II" can completely contradict what the Council Fathers actually wrote. It should be an interesting read.

Pray for our Holy Father.

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