A journal of academic theology

Ormond Rush

Dei Verbum and the Roots of Synodality

This article shows how Pope Francis’s notion of “synodality” brings together central tenets of the comprehensive vision of the Second Vatican Council. The article proposes that the roots of synodality can be found, above all, in Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum.

Inverting the Pyramid: The Sensus Fidelium in a Synodal Church

Pope Francis has spoken of his vision of synodality and of a synodal church in terms of “an inverted pyramid.” This essay examines the roots of such a vision in the vision of Vatican II, particularly two reversals made by the council regarding the nature of the church. Moreover, it shows the centrality of the

ECCLESIAL CONVERSION AFTER VATICAN II: RENEWING “THE FACE OF THE CHURCH” TO REFLECT “THE GENUINE FACE OF GOD”

The Second Vatican Council was an event of conversion for the participating bishops, and the council’s documents propose a vision for the conversion of the Catholic ecclesial imagination. The author argues that this ecclesial conversion entails a refashioning of the Catholic Church’s understanding of the divine-human relationship in history. This relationship includes the divine-ecclesial relationship

Toward a Comprehensive Interpretation of the Council and Its Documents

Contemporary proposals regarding an appropriate hermeneutic for interpreting Vatican II vary in their emphasis on three elements: the conciliar process, the conciliar documents, and the shifting contexts from which future generations interpret the council and its documents. Drawing on these insights, this article outlines six principles, which the author proposes as basic for ensuring a

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