The Second Vatican Council was a watershed event in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. With this
council the Church made a deliberate attempt to affirm the positive aspects of twentieth century social evolution among its members and in the world. The full impact of the council is still to be measured. Even twenty-five years later we are still assessing its effect on public and private life, so, in a sense, one might say the council is still happening in the hearts and minds of Christians. This book is the first of three volumes that attempt to evaluate, in a systematic way, the contributions of the Second Vatican Council in its own day and during the two and one-half decades that followed. The contributors to this volume are all faculty members of the pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, representing Catholic theology from all parts of the world. Section I of this book considers the historical situation of Vatican II and the methodology of its deliberations. Section II is given to a detailed review of Dei Verbum, the council's document on revelation. Section III weighs the contributions and achievements of the council,s most important document, De Ecclesia, on the Church. Subsequent volumes will consider other conciliar documents and the impact they have had on the post-conciliar Church. The complete contents of all three volumes can be found in the back of this book.