Vatican Council II, Vol. 1: The Conciliar and Postconciliar Documents [Paperback]

Austin Flannery (Author, Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1060 pages
• Publisher: Costello Pub Co (December 31, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918344395
• ISBN-13: 978-0918344397
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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64 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vatican Council II by Flannery - THE TRUTH ABOUT VATICAN II, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vatican Council II, Vol. 1: The Conciliar and Postconciliar Documents (Paperback)

I told my spritual advisor that I felt uncomfortable with Second Vatican Council changes. He advised that I get and read the actual documents. The version he recommended was only 800 pages long. Thank God it was not available. Instead I got both 'Volume 1-Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents' and 'Volume 2-More Post Conciliar Documents' of Flannery's 'Vatican Council II' set. They opened my eyes to the Council. I loved and appreciated the changes made. And the documents are very, very easy to read and understand.

I bought my friend a set as a gift. He thanks me to this day. Every Catholic (and priest) should have these books on there shelves next to their Bible and New Catechism and read them as a regular daily regimen.

Reading these books cleared up many of the misrepresentations slipped in by those wanting change the church on their own. I had felt alienated. But these documents are what was really passed by the Council. What the Vatican Council really decreed. They should be labeled 'The Truth About Vatican Council II'.

Thank you Fr. Austin Flannery!!

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides a General Explanation and Apologetic for Vatican II, March 6, 2003

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Vatican Council II, Vol. 1: The Conciliar and Postconciliar Documents (Paperback)

Any student of modern Catholicism should have this book. What Vatican II did in its influence of present day Catholic perspectives and outlook is well-known. What is often forgotten is the documents outlining the future understanding of what the Roman Catholic Church is.

Catholics high school level and up should be introduced to this, particular those students concerned with understanding the official apologetic on tough issues. Protestants of all denominations will see how their own history has been intertwined with Roman Catholicism, and, from this volume, appreciate the similarities and differences. In fact, I bought my copy in a conservative Protestant bookstore, as the nearby Catholic store only sold gift books.

In this first volume, "The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents," you'll quickly see is not a teaching book like the new Catechism is intended. Instead, it is a collection of key papers, decrees and statements explaining Rome's view on issues as varied as the

* liturgy
* worship music
* requirements to receive communion
* ecumenism
* bishops
* training of priests
* nonChristian religions and the Catholic Church's relationship to them
* defining and explaining divine revelation
* lay people
* religious liberty
* missionaries

In many ways, this is far more substantive than the Catechism, in that it provides a more thorough Scriptural base in its reasoning. It is more of an anthology of legal decrees, and yet it accessible. It isn't in legalese, but it may refer to Articles and other documents unknown to some readers.

The introduction realizes the reader may not be a Vatican scholar, and a quick, but useful overview of biblical and extrabiblical abbreviations. Each section thereafter has an introduction to provide context behind the need for developing the given decree.

The appendix is strong, and will lead serious researchers to the precise document in question.

The book appears to be set in a 10 pt. Times, with just a quarter to half inch margin, and the volume itself is delivered with an awkward dimension. The book is thicker than it should be, and the solution would've been bigger pages, and thus, a thinner book instead of the current 1062 pages. There is a study edition which is said to accommodate these concerns.

I fully recommend "Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents (Vatican Collection, Volume 1)." It is just part of the beginning to understand the vastness of modern Catholic theology, but it is a highly readable book, and is officially recognized by Rome for its reliability.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What does the Church really say?, April 9, 1999

By 

D. M. Childs "ignatiusdmc" (Central Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vatican Council II, Vol. 1: The Conciliar and Postconciliar Documents (Paperback)

A must have for those with a reference library containing the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Not loaded with prejudicial commentary. Just the text of the products of Vatican II. If you teach the Catholic faith in any way, you should have a copy.