Observing Vatican II
The Confidential Reports of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative, Bernard Pawley, 1961–1964

A collection of the confidential correspondence between Bernard Pawley and the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Second Vatican Council.

Andrew Chandler (Edited by), Charlotte Hansen (Edited by)

9781107052949, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 January 2014

426 pages
22.2 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.7 kg

President de Gaulle famously called the Second Vatican Council 'the greatest event of the twentieth century'. Vatican II established a landmark not only in Roman Catholic theology, ethics and worship, but also in its ecclesiology and ecumenical relationships with other traditions. Commentators at the time saw the council as nothing short of revolutionary and the later judgements of historians have upheld this view. A defining dimension of Vatican II was the presence of a number of observers invited by John XXIII to represent other traditions and to report the workings of the Council to their own leaders. But it was often felt that they exerted influence, too. The Archbishop of Canterbury employed a representative at the Vatican Council, Bernard Pawley. Pawley's confidential reports and correspondence have often been quoted in secondary studies, and have achieved a considerable academic stature. This book makes them available to scholars, churches and the public.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Editorial note
Abbreviations
Chronology, 1958–66
Vatican II dramatis personae
The reports of Bernard Pawley
The coming of the Council, April 1961–October 1962
The first session and after, October 1962–September 1963
The second session and after, September 1963–September 1964
The third session and after, September–December 1964
The Council after Pawley
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Christianity [HRC], Religion & beliefs [HR], History [HB], Humanities [H]