Ten Achievements of Vatican II, Extract from Berard Doerger, OFM. American Catholic.org (full article here)
WHAT THE COUNCIL ACHIEVED
How do we assess the impact of the Council? I’d like to propose 10 remarkable achievements. These I consider the most important and lasting fruits of Vatican II.
Vatican II - An Event of Grace Broadcast to Mary Immaculate Hall, 4 Waverley Avenue Ivanhoe, Wednesday 10 October 2012, 10:00am - 3:00pm
The 2nd Vatican Council continues to have significant and ever growing impact on discussion and the life of the church at all levels. In recognition of the 50th Anniversary in October of its Opening on 11 October 1962 and celebration of this Year Of Grace The Broken Bay Institute in partnership with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference presents the 7th National eConference "Vatican II - An event of Grace", on Wednesday 10th October 2012 . There's a distinguished panel of speakers. Program details here . All are invited. There's no charge.
Ivanhoe Parish will be one of many sites in Australia and around the world to host an interactive streamed-video broadcast of this Conference, from 10:30am to 3:00pm on Wednesday 10 October. It will be held in the Hall behind Mary Immaculate Church, 4 Waverley Avenue Ivanhoe. Commencing with morning tea at 10:00am it will included a light lunch, and would benefit from guests bringing a "cakes" plate. Reservation is necessary (Merle 03 9497 1691, John 03 9850 2454 or email comms@ivanhoecatholics.com).
Documents The following Vatican II Introduction and Background provide some insight, and for further commentary and preparation for the eConference links to further reading material are provided. Providing an Australian context the first of these "The Australian Hierarchy at Vatican II" is a 4 part paper written in 2007 by Thang Vu during his seminary formation at the time towards the priesthood. Part 1-4 may be read and downloaded below, or the full document.
Part I: A Brief Survey of the Deepening Crisis in Relationships between the Catholic Church and Society during the Post-Tridentine Period" Part II: A study of the speeches and writings of John XXIII concerning the Second Vatican Council, with special reference to his perception of an epochal shift and his vision for the Church into the future. Part III: The Australian Hierarchy at Vatican II - The Local Church Reception; Of John XXIII and News of a Council
Part IV: Assessment of the Historical Importance of Vatican II Full Document: "The Australian Hierarchy at Vatican II" Thang Vu, 2007
Vatican II special coverage in 'Perspective'
On the weekend of 6 October CathNews begins six weeks of special coverage to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. The first edition of CathNews Perspectives will feature a Reflection by Geraldine Doogue on the way Vatican II strengthened her idea of faith, interviews with leading Australian clerical and Catholic thinkers on its significance for the Church as a whole, and other related material. In these special editions, CathNews Perspectives will be delivered on Saturday mornings. Click here
Vatican II
(Extract from wikipedia with listing of References)
Introduction The Second Vatican Council (also known coloquially as Vatican II) addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December 1965. Of those who took part in the council's opening session, four have become pontiffs to date: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who on succeeding Pope John XXIII took the name of Paul VI; Bishop Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I; Bishop Karol Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II; and Father Joseph Ratzinger, present as a theological consultant, who became Pope Benedict XVI.[2][3]
Background
Throughout the 1950s, theological and biblical studies of the Catholic Church had begun to sway away from the neo-scholasticism and biblical literalism that the reaction to Catholic modernism had enforced since the First Vatican Council.[citation needed] This shift could be seen in theologians such as Karl Rahner, S.J., Michael Herbert, and John Courtney Murray, SJ who looked to integrate modern human experience with church principles based on Jesus Christ, as well as others such as Yves Congar, Joseph Ratzinger and Henri de Lubac who looked to an accurate understanding of scripture and the early Church Fathers as a source of renewal (or ressourcement).