Customer Reviews

What Went Wrong With Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis Explained

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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."

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.

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.

This book is not so much about Vatican II as it is about the crisis of authority that currently plagues the Catholic Church. Ralph McInerny argues that it was not Vatican II that sowed the seeds for the dramatic decline in mass attendance and in vocations to the religious life, but rather the public dissent of Catholic theologians and a few bishops in the wake of Humanae Vitae - a dissent which finds no basis in Vatican II itself. He has done us a great service by drawing our attention to the defining problem of our day.

The term "authority" is often confused with "power", but it refers to the act of giving witness to the truth. An authority does not make up truths and compel belief, but rather testifies to the truth which it has received. The Church claims to speak with divine authority, an authority which is particularly vested in the Pope. Now, this is and always has been a radical claim - but it is a foundational claim of the Catholic Church. Ever since the birth of the modern world, the secular world has denied the Church's claim. The present crisis in the Church is that increasing numbers of practicing Catholics have come to deny it as well. McInerny offers a concise analysis of how the present situation came to be.

The weakness of the book is two-fold. First, McInerny focuses only on the immediate cause of the problem. (By challenging the authority of the Magisterium, the dissenting theologians have undermined the ability of the laity to discern the nature of the authority that is vested in the Magisterium). What he does not do is offer historical perspective, which would suggest that the secular effort to deny the authority of the Catholic Church (begun in the Reformation and concluded in the Enlightenment) is just now extending its reach into the Church itself. Second, McInerny offers us no solution to the problem, save that we need to pray. Prayer certainly matters, but if the primary purpose of Vatican II was to solve the problem of how to evangelize in a world that is hostile to belief, surely we are still called to evangelize, even as that hostility seeps into the Church herself. McInerney offers a good diagnosis, but we await a book offering more guidance on how we can effect a cure.

McInerny makes the compelling argument that what has gone wrong with the Catholic Church since Vatican II cannot be blamed on Vatican II itself, but on liberal theologians' subsequent refusals to submit to papal teaching, notably in the case of the encyclical Humanae Vitae. What appears to secular-based thinking as Vatican totalitarianism is the result of the feeling that the Church ought to be run as a representative democracy. McInerny makes it clear that such has never been, and should never be, the case; that to be an anti-papal Catholic makes about as much sense as being a carnivorous vegetarian. He correctly observes that the liberals' calls to disregard the pope's authority amount to a demand that Catholics submit to the liberals' authority instead.

Unfortunately, McInerny falls into much of the same behavior as that which he deplores in the dissenters: overt hostility and lack of charity. Too much of this short book is given over to venting. The same points are made over and over, resulting in an unpleasantly hectoring tone. One very revealing passage shows the author's frustration with what he perceives as the Vatican's excessive patience and restraint in dealing with the mounting protest. (Apparently, the papacy's supporters have as much trouble submitting to it as do its detractors!) The effect of this tone is such that his closing recommendations for Church restoration and healing through "prayer and fasting" seem tacked on and perfunctory. Bearing this in mind, the book's main points are well made, and I look forward to delving into the actual Vatican II documents to see just how much the public perception of the changes in that council's wake are justified by the writings themselves.

The nature of the Church is such that issues can be freely discussed throughout the hierarchy, between laity, clergy and bishops, and, when necessary, the pope will determine what is binding. One can be an American and disregard presidential statements; one cannot truly be a Catholic without willing submission to the pope's teachings. To refuse this obedience is to define oneself, quite simply, as a Protestant. Any charge of totalitarianism is invalid; one is not free to act as one wishes in, or flee, a country with a totalitarian government, whereas no one is compelled to be a Catholic against one's will. Catholics believe that the Church hierarchy is inspired by the Holy Spirit, whether or not its teachings coincide with their own desires, and that consistent efforts to align oneself with these teachings will deepen one's love of God and humanity and thus lead to full acceptance of the salvation won for us by Christ. If such submission seems sheeplike to the secular mentality, it should be remembered that the Lord did not use the word "sheep" as an insult.

In the decades following the second Vatican Council, Catholics remain confused about it. What was its purpose? Did it really change everything and try to strip away Catholic identity? Why did we even need it? The Catholic Church was in great shape in the years immediately preceding the council.... wasn't it?
This book provides some valuable insight into what the council was about and why it was necessary. It also exposes how renegade theologians, not hierarchy as is commonly believed, ruined the council's implementation. Vatican II was never the problem. It didn't destroy Catholic identity or try to undermine the faith. In fact, it wasn't until 1968, years after the close of the council, that the real crisis in obedience began in the Church, and that had to do with Pope Paul VI's landmark encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Dissident theologians were publicly embarrassed when the pope did not come out in support of artificial contraception after they'd said he would. They told Catholic married couples that the encyclical could be ignored and fostered disobedience. This book explores the rebellion among the theologians and its bitter fruit of disobedience to lawful Church authority. It's a real eye-opener to anyone who's often wondered just what Vatican II taught and why this council is singularly blamed for everything wrong with the Church today.
The best part is, like Dr. von Hildebrand before him, Mr. McInerney not only identifies the crisis, he identifies its cure. Above all else, his message is: Trust the Church and do not bail out on her. Christ gave her to Catholics to bring them to Heaven and promised that the gates of hell would never overcome her.... and He never breaks His promises.

. . .about the crisis of authority in the Catholic Church today. Like a previous reviewer, I also note that this book discusses Humanae Vitae far more than Vatican II -- but agree that the fundamental issue IS one of authority in the Church and that the same clerics who wished to deliberately mis-represent the Council are also the ones who protested so vehemently against Humanae Vitae.

From the perspective of this non-Roman Catholic reviewer, it is the authority structure available in the Catholic Church which makes it so attractive and Dr. McInerny's strong call to the Church to exert the authority God has given them is refreshing.

History has demonstrated time and time again that Christianity cannot function either by democracy or by kowtowing to the lowest common denominator. Kudos to Dr. McInerny for bringing to the fore the REAL problem in the Catholic Church over the last 40 years.

Rather than the title "What Went Wrong With Vatican II" this book should have had a title about the fallout after Humanae Vitae because that is it's main focus. It is an easy read though and, looking back now, was probably one of the first books by a main-stream publisher to critique the post-conciliar situation in a sound way. I think that it was fine for a few years ago but there have been more and better treatments of the subject since it came out.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not find the title misleading because what went wrong with Vatican II was not Vatican II itself. Unfortunately, the Council, its documents, and subsequent documents with Church authority have been deliberately misinterpreted or ignored by people acting without authority.

Our sympathy with Dr McInerny's thesis notwithstanding, we find this a dry and almost pedantic offering -- impeccably researched and documented, but it is indeed the heroic reader who can maintain unflagging interest in the book from start to finish. A pert summary might be: Contraception bad, "Humanae Vitae" good; theological dissent bad, papal authority good.

A noble soul is Ralph McInerny, fighting the good fight. But in this book, he preaches to the choir. It is a sad fact that the persons who most need to read this book will not do so, and the persons most favourably disposed to this book will find their attention drifting elsewhere. Perhaps into prayer for the good of the Church.