the greatest change in history: still an unfinished business

Vatican ll was called by the bishops in attendance “the greatest grace of the century.” South African archbishop Denis Hurley called it “the greatest change in thinking in the history of the church.” Given these descriptions, one could hardly expect such a momentous event to be integrated in one or two generations. One of the Council’s central concepts, however, the idea that the spirit of God lies as much with the people as with the hierarchy of the church, has slowly gained an unstoppable momentum.

Ted Schmidt is editor of the New Catholic Times (newcatholictimes.org) and past editor of the Catholic New Times. An award-winning educator, he has been honoured for his pioneering work on the development of Holocaust studies in Ontario high schools. He has written and spoken widely across Canada on topics of church, culture and ethics. His books include Shabbes Goy: a Catholic Boyhood on a Jewish Street in a Protestant City (2001) and Journeys to the Heart of Catholicism (2008).