The Second Vatican Council enacted the most sweeping changes the Catholic Church had seen in centuries. In readable and compelling prose, Mark S. Massa tells the story of the culture war these changes ignited in the United States--a war that is still being waged today. The first stirrings of upheaval took place in the pews, where changes to the mass were felt immediately and viscerally by the faithful. Suddenly, one Sunday, the mass as they had always known it was very different, and so was the Church they had believed was timeless and unchanging. Skirmishes quickly broke out over the proper way to worship, with "liberals" welcoming change, "conservatives" resisting it. Soon, Catholics found themselves bitterly divided over everything from birth control to the authority of the Church itself. As he narrates these turbulent events, Massa takes us beyond the "liberal/conservative" stereotypes, offering new insights into the last fifty years of American Catholicism.
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From Publishers Weekly
This latest effort to digest the impact of the Second Vatican Council on Catholicism attempts to show that significant change did occur in the church in a way that is permanent and thus unlikely to be undone. Massa, professor of theology at New York's Jesuit-run Fordham University, dismisses the view ascribed to the late Pope John Paul II that Vatican II changed nothing essential in the belief and practice of the church. To say this, the author claims, is tantamount to trying to put the "genie back into the bottle." He defends his position by citing the changes in worship that were introduced and, for the most part, warmly welcomed by Catholics, touching off a revolution that he says was felt in the widespread rejection of the message of Humanae Vitae, the 1968 papal encyclical on birth control, and in reforms in religious communities, and also in social activism on the part of Catholics. Although by no means a comprehensive examination, Massa's work is thoughtful and will be of special interest to students of Vatican II and the 1960s social revolution.
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Massa goes in-depth on the aftermath of Vatican II in this country. This is absolutely essential reading if you want to understand the turmoil and turbulence that occurred in the American Church in the late 1960s."--U.S. Catholic
"With his characteristic clarity and verve, Mark Massa provides a balanced and badly needed analysis of 'the Catholic sixties.' He tells a gripping story of that fateful decade by seeing the great issues revealed through the lenses of specific incidents and personages. He is thus able to hold our attention and, most important, dispel the comforting myth that the issues were frivolous, without merit, and not worthy of revisiting today."
--Rev. John O'Malley, S.J., author of What Happened at Vatican II
"Mark Massa brilliantly identifies historical consciousness as the acid that dissolved the old Catholic certainties. He is equally convincing in demonstrating that the story of Catholicism since Vatican II is an example of the law of unintended consequences. There was no conspiracy of left or right; just an unexpected combination of internal Catholic stresses and a volatile situation in the United States of the sixties and seventies."
--Patrick N. Allitt, Cahoon Family Professor of American History, Emory University
"That the history Massa recounts is so recent makes his book even more remarkable. He has produced a credible description of the forest while most of us are still busy scrutinizing individual trees. And that he has done so with such grace and humor will win Massa more admirers, not only among scholars but also among the coveted and elusive 'general readers.'"
--America Magazine
"Massa offers a keen, captivating study of the Vatican II era and its influence on American Catholicism... Recommended." -- Choice
"This is a good read, beautifully written, for those who want to understand what happened in that decade." -- Conscience Magazine
"The American Catholic Revolution is an engaging, accessible, and astute appraisal of twentieth century Catholicism that makes the convincing case for a Catholic tradition defined by change." --Catholic Library World
"This is absolutely essential reading if you want to understand the turmoil and turbulaence that occured in the American Church in the Late 1960's."--Ken Trainor, One Man's Guide to Reading on Vatican II
"Massa makes his argument is very readable prose and with many historical facts...."--James F. Garneau, Mount Olive College
"Well-written, accessible, and consistently interesting." -- Worship Magazine
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
HOW THE CHURCH WAS RENEWED AND RESHAPED IN THE 1960S--NOT TO BE MISSED
December 12, 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book will provide in-depth understanding for those seeking to grasp the renewal and reshaping of Catholicism in the 1960s and continues, assuming the book is carefully read, of course. I found Mark Massa's account of the life and times of the American Catholic Church to be a page-turner, a book that kept me up late at night. His understanding of the times and his writing style bring new life to the cast of characters and the arguments that were leading the way in renewing the church and the study of theology before, during, and after Vatican Council II--as well as an understanding of the mindset that brought conflict. HIs chapters on the Charles Curran Affair and theologian Avery Dulles were worth the price of the book, in my opinion.
His notes are extensive, and he provides an index (a sine qua non for me in providing praise and recommendation for a book). Those of us who lived through the 1960s and kept abreast of the changes by reading periodicals such as National Catholic Reporter, America, and Commonweal, Worship, and diocesan newspapers published by progressive bishops will have their memories refreshed and possibly gain some additional insights; I certainly did. Young Catholics who have no memory of the times or who have a superficial understanding of Vatican Council II and the aftermath of Paul VI's encyclical on birth control (Humanae Vitae) can vicariously experience what their grandparents and parents came to know existentially.
Hope this book is widely read by all Catholics, especially younger Catholics and the many who have have left the Catholic Church (according to the recent Pew study 1 in 10 American who were baptized Catholics are no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church and make up the third largest "religious" group in the U.S.A.,or 10.... Read more ›
His notes are extensive, and he provides an index (a sine qua non for me in providing praise and recommendation for a book). Those of us who lived through the 1960s and kept abreast of the changes by reading periodicals such as National Catholic Reporter, America, and Commonweal, Worship, and diocesan newspapers published by progressive bishops will have their memories refreshed and possibly gain some additional insights; I certainly did. Young Catholics who have no memory of the times or who have a superficial understanding of Vatican Council II and the aftermath of Paul VI's encyclical on birth control (Humanae Vitae) can vicariously experience what their grandparents and parents came to know existentially.
Hope this book is widely read by all Catholics, especially younger Catholics and the many who have have left the Catholic Church (according to the recent Pew study 1 in 10 American who were baptized Catholics are no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church and make up the third largest "religious" group in the U.S.A.,or 10.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By MJM
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great read and help in clarifying and surviving these times. If you can understand what is going on you have a better chance of dealing with it. This book goes a long way to helping you understand. Thank you Fr. Massa.
By Zoeysmom
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is exactly what I needed in terms of my research for those times. Especially his unbiased description of the Immaculate Heart Sisters v. Vatican and MacIntryre.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By TomPop
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Highly recommended by a friend and deservedly so. A brilliant revelation of the forces, actors and circumstances shaping the revolution of the church.
Tom Dowling
Tom Dowling
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Father Massa's slim volume is a concise record of what happened in the Catholic Church in America in the 1960's. It is especially good recounting the travails of the Immaculate Heart Sisters in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. His reporting of the saga of the theologian Charles Curran's resistance to the encyclical of Paul VI that outlawed artificial contraception is also helpful.
His attempt to sort out the various theological and philosophical 'problems' with that encyclical ("Humanae Vitae") is less successful. It's as if an undergraduate had innocently waded in to doctoral territory.
His attempt to sort out the various theological and philosophical 'problems' with that encyclical ("Humanae Vitae") is less successful. It's as if an undergraduate had innocently waded in to doctoral territory.
