"This is a highly important work. Ormond Rush models a symphonic and intertextual reading of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, placing them in their historical context, attending to both authors and receivers, and revealing the trajectory of vital insights that invite fresh theological thinking. His application of sound hermeneutical principles carefully drawn from the orientations of the council itself exposes the limits of one-dimensional or facile interpretations of the council's teaching. Especially significant is Rush's contention that the council itself (and hence its interpretation) prioritizes the `theo-logical' over the ecclesiological—encounter with the living God through Christ and the Spirit over its various mediations in the scriptures, the liturgy, and the life of the church. Grounded in the best of recent scholarship, this book will stand for years to come as point of reference for students of the council and its teaching."
Catherine E. Clifford, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada
"In line with Pope Francis, Orm Rush wants church leaders, theologians, and all the faithful to receive and live the whole vision of Vatican II. Rush remains faithful to his conviction that one can use the `theo-logical' focus of Dei Verbum as a lens to interpret passages from other documents, but also grants a certain normativity to other documents of the mature Council (especially Ad Gentes and Gaudium et Spes). I was most impressed by Rush's ability to enrich his analysis of the different principles by combining sometimes unexpected references from different documents (intertextuality), such as using lines from Sacrosanctum Concilium to shed light on Nostra Aetate."
Peter De May, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven
"Rush engages academic theologians in a deep analysis of the conciliar texts while presenting the complexity of the Vatican council in a way that is also enormously rewarding to less professional readers. This book is recommended to anyone who struggles to understand the meaning of the Second Vatican Council and who is not enlightened by the polarized antagonisms of recent decades. It is a long book, admirably clear in the way it approaches sometimes complex issues, and rewards the reader from its first word to its last."
National Catholic Reporter
"An outstanding theological work about an extraordinary conciliar event. Rush's approach, historical in the broadest sense, breathes life into the documents and shows how dynamic each principle is, and how the principles relate to one another."
Catholic Books Review
“The Vision of Vatican II is not so much a story that proceeds from beginning to middle to end as it is a score that sets out a series of themes and then returns to them in multiple variations. The movement is circular, not linear. The book’s most important contribution—namely, its historically sensitive intra- and inter-textual reading of the council texts—leads to fresh insights.”
Theological Studies
"The Vision of Vatican II: Its Fundamental Principles provides an excellent companion to the conciliar documents, particularly for scholars moving the church out of the twentieth century and through the twenty-first century, and graduate students seeking a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of the council. We owe Rush a debt of gratitude for this valuable contribution."
Anastasia Wenlinder, Gonzaga University
Adding to cart...