[.ca] What Went Wrong with Vatican II: The Catholic Crisis ... (ISBN 0918477794)

Very Repetitive:
I felt that the author stretched the focus of this book by repeating the main point of the book over and over again. I would have perferred to learn more about how this problem came about in the first place and maybe how and why other religions have handled it.

Thought provoking, but it begs some questions:
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.

Prophetic:
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.

A readable exposition. . .:
. . .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.

A Crisis of Authority:
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.