What Went Wrong With Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained [Adult] [Paperback]

Ralph M. McInerny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Vatican II was supposed to herald a Golden Age in the Catholic Church--yet in the thirty years since it ended, chaos & dissension have rocked the pulpits and emptied the pews. Today, theologians rise against the Pope, laymen turn away in dismay and confusion. McInerney cuts through conventional wisdom to reveal the council's true message--a message which, if widely known, would send shock waves through both the conservative and liberal wings on the Church...and would bring many Catholics back to the practice of the Faith. After Vatican II, instead of enjoying the expected renaissance, the Church seemed to fall apart: priests and bishops rejected Church teachings, convents and seminaries emptied, and laypeople were thrown into confusion. I vividly remember my own dismay when I discovered that although I had entered the Catholic Church because I had come to see (with Cardinal Newman's help) the necessity for a teaching authority, large numbers of Catholics were chafing under that authority and yearning for an illusory freedom. This strange rebellion in the post-Vatican II Church is examined and blisteringly rebuked in Ralph McInerny's What Went Wrong with Vatican II. McInerny contends that the problem wasn't Vatican II itself, which, as an ecumenical council, enjoyed the protection of the Holy Spirit. The problem, he argues, came afterward: with Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI s restatement of the Church s constant teaching that artificial contraception is immoral. Instead of greeting it with respect and obedience, a large group of clergy dissented publicly from Humanae Vitae and touched off a civil war in the Church as they competed with the Vatican for the obedience of the faithful. In this crucial book, McInerny traces the problem and shows what we must do now to restore the Church.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Sophia Institute Press; 1ST edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918477794
• ISBN-13: 978-0918477798
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > History > Europe > Vatican

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vaticn II documents were falsely interpreted by theologians., November 23, 1998

By 

Richard Hevron (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Went Wrong With Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained (Paperback)

The book's central argument is that with the publication of Humanae Vitae in 1968, liberal, progressive and modernist Catholic theologians, who had anticipated that Pope Paul VI would change the church's teaching on contraception, were infuriated with the encyclical's teaching, which supported and reinforced the Church's traditional teaching on marriage, family and contraception. Angered, and emboldened by "the cultural revolution that has shaken the West: the radical liberal ideology with its individualistic, rationalistic, and hedonist cast," these theologians openly, aggressively and maliciously revolted against the Church's Magisterium.

Progressive and modern theologians have maintained this position for thirty years, ridiculing and criticizing all letters, teachings and encyclicals of the Church and Magisterium. They espoused questioning all Magisterial authority while asserting their authority to dissent, and the lay Catholic right to "decide everything according to their own conscience." Additionally there have been shameful liturgical abuses that were never anticipated or promulgated by Vatican II, yet all done under the 'spirit of Vatican II.'

Dr. McInerny asserts that Vatican II affirmed and restated the traditional teachings of the Church and all prior councils. What went wrong at Vatican II is "not with the documents that were promulgated, but the false interpretations of them in the post conciliar period." Concomitantly, the dissension of so many theologians has thoroughly confused the Catholic laity and the confusion and dissension infected every aspect of the Church's life and teachings during the past 30 years. Dissent became good, more dissent was better!

What is the crisis in the Church? "The crisis consists in a conflict of authorities. And that crisis has become progressively more complicated. Catholics who took the word of the theologians that they could practice contraception, later had to take their word that they could defy the Magisterium and remain loyal Catholics. Soon they were at ease with their malformed consciences. Their ears grew evermore deaf to the Church's voice as expressed in Vatican II and in so many subsequent pronouncements."

Finally, the intuitive professor states that the crisis can be resolved by referencing Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis Splendor. Christ gave the Church as the means of salvation and the Holy Father the task of teaching to each person who desires salvation. McInerny affirms that we need a change of heart and "that it will be by following Mary's wishes as expressed to the children at Fatima that the promise of Vatican II will be fulfilled. She advised prayer and fasting ... that will drive out the demon of dissent and fill the Church once more with the great hope and optimism of Vatican II."

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, but it begs some questions, October 11, 2003

By 

Tim Martin (South Bend, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Went Wrong With Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained (Paperback)

If you have any read any other reviews, you realize that this book is more about Humanae Vitae that about Vatican II. But that should not concern you as Humanae Vitae provides all the examples that Mr. McInerny needs.

The book is basicly a short primer on the ways that dissident theologians have attacked the authority of the Church and set themselves up as the final arbitrators of the Faith. The book is fairly written, though rather brief (with a large font). Mr. McInerny makes no bones about his position, but he does treat his opposition fairly. It is for this reason that you should read this book if are interested in this subject (even if you have made up your mind one way, or the other).

But the one topic that Mr. McInerny does not address is the history of the opposing theologians. One is given the impression that the dissident theologians came to being during Vatican II---without any pre-history. Of course, this is absurd. Life long commitments are not changed in an instant. But Mr. McInerny does not look at the topic of why there were dissenting theologians pre-Vatican II and what engendered them.

But, all in all, the book is a brief, but good read. I should add that I do live in South Bend (home of Notre Dame, where Mr. McInerny teaches), but I do not know Mr. McInerny.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 23, 2001

By 

Spacemouse (Western US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Went Wrong With Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained (Paperback)

My first reaction when I began reading this book was that the title was (as someone else said) misleading. Those who are looking for a book about the liturgical reforms that arose from the council should look elsewhere. However, I think McInerny presents a good argument for the cause of the current crisis of authority in the Catholic Church. The book is short and leads to a neat conclusion that ties everything together. While it may seem like all the discussion about Humanae Vitae is off topic, it is not, and in fact it allows the book to work in two ways: both as a discussion of the current tension between the Magisterium and dissenting theologians, and as a good description of how conscience is supposed to function for an individual Catholic.