The Second Vatican Council - An Unwritten Story

I recommend this book highly but only to those Catholics who are not 'faint of heart'. It is a great work of history which supplements nicely Romano Amerio's "Iota Unum" (available through Amazon). Whereas Amerio's work is about the radical theological and philosophical changes in the Church begun in the Council, de Mattei's work gives a history of the Council beginning with chapters on the Church of Pope Pius XII and a long chapter on the prepatory phase leading to the Council and chapters on each of the 4 sessions followed by a chapter on the aftermath of the Council. The strength of his book are the many extended quotes of the Council Fathers, their expert advisors, and other commentators. Among the most powerful quotes are those by Bishop Rudolph Graber of Regensburg Germany who said effectively that the changes to the Church were not incidental or passing but about the "whole thing" meaning the very nature of the church as a Supernatural Institution founded by Christ. Another quote called the Council a shift from a "theocentric" (God centered) to an "anthropocentric" (man centered) view of reality. Again, one Bishop at the end of the first session (end of 1962) said the two contending parties of Bishops and theologians (both minorities) were the Roman and Thomistic and the anti Roman and anti Thomistic. The anti Roman and anti Thomistic side won out to a significant degree, because they were better organized and more motivated, but one commentator said about this, that abandoning Thomist Theology and Philosophy meant abandoning the precise language of the Church. It is very clear to me, that the ambiguities of the Council's wording and the many and often conflicting interpretations have been continually evident in the past 50 years. Certain Cardinals, Bishops and theologians speak for themselves and prominent figures like Cardinal Suenens, Fr. Rahner and Fr. Congar clearly intended the radical changes to the church and her liturgy, without however, foreseeing the profound consequences evident in the great confusion among clergy and laity in our present day. The split in the Council leaders is reflected in the split in the Church today between the 'liberal' Catholics and the 'traditional or conservative' Catholics; I would also argue it resulted in the split of the Democratic political party, in that the last party platform in 2008, which included gay marriage and abortion, was anti God (as noted by Archbishop Vigano, Papal Nuncio to the U.S.), but in my experience many Democrats seemed not to know or not to care. De Mattei's book also includes some quotes from various diaries of Council figures such as Cardinal de Lubac who was somewhat 'progressive' at the beginning but later expressed grave criticism of the Council's results. Pope Paul VI after the Council asked Cardinal Charles Journet, Jesuit Swiss theologian, what he thought of the results of the Council and he answered "tragic". Really a great and highly informative book but it might be unsettling to a traditional/conservative Catholic, especially one who believed there was a real unanimity among the Council Fathers and that it would produce positive results. The extensive footnotes are on the whole valuable but sometimes overwhelming to a non scholar like me. I think Roberto de Mattei is a great historian who is on the traditional side of the Church but his objectivity is clear and he lets the Council participants and commentators speak for themselves and they speak 'volumes'.

I have read a few commentaries and histories on the Vatican II Council that read more like pep rally "Rah, rah!" speeches. To many, the Vatican II marked one of the most positively monumental events in Church history. But for the past decade I, like so many, have been "red-pilled" on the rosey picture of the Church in light of Vatican II and have suspicions about it's positive impact. Dr. Roberto de Mattei is one of the few serious, objective scholars to approach the Council, what currents, trends, and personalities lead up to its genesis, its progression, and aftermath. You will need time to go through this book as it is heady and gets into the very fine minutiae of theological movements that have impacted the Church since. A real, sober look at the Council. The only other book I can recommend is Christopher Ferrera's book "The Great Fascade." Much more polemical in tone but just as informative and citation heavy. These two books are the only serious, scholarly attempts to discern the Vatican II Council and its worth.

Hysteria, conspiracy theories, accusations of Freemasonry. This is what one has (regrettably) come to expect from a lot of traditional catholic writers when it comes to telling the story of the Church's 20th century. Even if one is inclined to agree with a traditionalist diagnosis of the heresies and abuses that exploded after the Second Vatican Council, the lack of rigor in a lot of what we read is depressing. Couldn't someone write a factually rigorous, well-documented record of the events of the council, their background, and their aftermath from the vantage point of the orthodox catholic faith, but without the hysterical spin? Roberto de Mattei has written exactly such a book.Over the course of 567 pages and 2478 footnotes, Mattei guides us through the events of the council, explaining their background and introducing the major characters as they appear. He depends heavily on primary source material, especially the diaries and memoirs of major council fathers and theological advisors. He mentions Freemasons only twice, and when he tells stories of conspiracies these stories are confirmed by the words of the conspirators themselves.If you want a critical, well-documented review of the Council as a historical event, this is the book to buy. And besides all of the advantages of its rigor (noted in an endorsement by Cardinal Brandmüller on the back cover!) it has the advantage of being a page turner. You won't be able to put it down!

Besides giving a point-by-point analysis of what happened during the Council itself, this book spends a considerable amount of time discussing the background of the Council both in terms of philosophical and theological trends and in terms of the major players in those trends and at the Council. For almost every new name mentioned in the book, which has any prominence in narrative or background, the author gives a footnote to that person, summarizing the dates of their birth, death, and ecclesiastical or academic offices along with a short bibliography of the main sources written on that author. This book is worthwhile for these footnotes alone. The book also summarizes the state of the literature on Vatican II in great detail in the introduction.

If you want to understand the true nature and origins of the current state of the Catholic Church, this is an absolutely fantastic book. The author does a superb job of assembling and presenting a lot of depth in a logical, digestible order. Also, I've never seen another volume with this level of documentation (citations and quotations).

De Mattei well documented the actions, the dramas of Vatican II from the neutral bird-view of a historian and most importantly he also documented the aftermath impact of Vatican II.

Ordered this book on the advice of Dr. Taylor Marshall and I am so glad I did. From the beginning, I find it hard to put this book down.

First time experience with Amazon Australia- and it was a great experience. Thats why I purchased another two more items with them!On that note, this book is a fantastic read! Dr de Mattai is an excellent historian. Not only did he incorporate the theological factors surrounding this devastating council, but also the historical and accurate facts surrounding the persons involved within the council. He first begins by examining the implications of the council - the actual problems with the interpretations of the council. And then starts the chapters by first tracing the council to pope puis xii. Quite frankly, it is a good start by doing this as it gives the entire context preceding the council leading into the council.So, do I recommend this book? Yes. Yes i do. Is it quite scholarly? Yes. Yes it is. But it is readable so that those who are not academic still understand the content.Get this book. If you want the truth about the second vatican council - this is where you seek it. It is not white washed. It depicts the true colors and devastation surrounding this council.

Superb. A critical analysis of V2: Scholarly, factual and authentic.