Recommended Reading on Vatican II

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Hi, I am just requesting a good starting point for reading about the council. I am thinking Theological Highlights of Vatican II (Joseph Ratzinger). I am looking for something I might read before or at least alongside the documents of the council themselves. Thanks!
 
Dr. Schreck’s book “Vatican II: The Crisis and the Promise” is a nice readable companion to the documents themselves. You could try tracking down the Council Daybooks, but those aren’t as readable. 😛
 
What are you wanting to get out of the supplemental reading? Are you wanting more of a historical account leading up to the council, during the council, after the council? Are you interested in the dogmatics, liturgy, ecclesiology? Are you wanting to get a sense of the controversies surrounding the council? Do you want an exegesis of the documents themselves?

There’s a ton of angles from which to approach this subject. I’ve been studying the after effects of the council for the past 12 years of my life, so I may be able to give you some advice.
 
Having a degree in history, I love primary sources, I would recommend reading the actual documents. I have, it is very interesting. Just go to the Vatican website and start reading.
 
Read Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) along with the book called Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium by Rita Ferrone.
 
Leon_Bloy said:
“What Went Wrong With Vatican II” by Ralph McInerny.
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This is a great book, too, but it more or less provides the historical backdrop for the years leading up to and away from the Council. It doesn’t really get into any sort of summary of the documents themselves. The Schreck book I mentioned earlier does that.

I just thought I’d clarify in case that helps you figure out which one would be more beneficial for your purposes.

Of course, I’m just taking for granted that you’re going to be reading the documents themselves. Other than 3 of the 4 Constitutions, none of the documents are really that long. Some are actually quite short.
 
What Happened at Vatican II is a phenomenal book that will really give you detailed context for the council. You will understand the context in which the council occurred (the first chapter gives a brief rundown of Catholic history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries), and then a detailed account and analysis of, well, what happened at Vatican II. 🙂
 
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