When Bishops Meet

<p><b>From one of our foremost church historians comes an overarching analysis of the three modern Catholic councils--an assessment of what Catholicism was and has become today.</b> <p/>Catholic councils are meetings of bishops. In this unprecedented comparison of the three most recent meetings John O'Malley traverses more than 450 years of Catholic history and examines the councils' most pressing and consistent concerns: questions of purpose power and relevance in a changing world. By offering new sometimes radical even troubling perspectives on these convocations <i>When Bishops Meet</i> analyzes the evolution of the church itself. <p/>The Catholic Church today is shaped by the historical arc starting from Trent in the sixteenth century to Vatican II. The roles of popes the laity theologians and others have varied from the bishop-centered Trent to Vatican I's declaration of papal infallibility to a new balance of power in the mid-twentieth century. At Trent lay people had direct influence on proceedings. By Vatican II their presence was token. At each gathering fundamental issues recurred: the relationship between bishops and the papacy the very purpose of a council and doctrinal change. Can the teachings of the church by definition a conservative institution change over time? <p/>Councils being ecclesiastical as well as cultural institutions have always reflected and profoundly influenced their times. Readers familiar with John O'Malley's earlier work as well as those with no knowledge of councils will find this volume an indispensable guide for essential questions: Who is in charge of the church? What difference did the councils make and will there be another?</p>