Jared WICKS, SJ. Investigating Vatican II, Its Theologians, Ecumenical Turn, and Biblical Commitment. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2018. Pp. 289. $30.00pb. ISBN 978-0-8132-3047-4. Reviewed by Francis BERNA, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA 19114.

Jared Wicks proposes the need for a “re-reception” of Vatican II. With this he suggests nothing along the lines of a “reform of the reform.” He correctly recognizes what he terms the “problem years” from 1965 through 1985 in terms of handing on the faith from one generation to another. Still he remains convinced that the Council’s great theological work, particularly its Christocentric vision of God’s self-revelation in Christ, can rejuvenate the Catholic Church in the 21st Century.

Reading Investigating Vatican II during the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” this reviewer shares Wicks’ perceived need for a re-energizing of the Church. One the one hand, as he notes, one can identify some remarkable achievements in ecumenism, particularly the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogues. At the same time, one finds little enthusiasm for this ongoing work, and even little knowledge of its achievements. The scandals of clerical sexual abuse drain further energy from any vibrancy in the institutional church. Finally, traditionalist movements and secularizing voices point to a church divided. Receiving the reforms of Vatican II suggests the possibility of a renewed church, one Wicks finds in the recent writings of Pope Francis.

Though this book consists of a collection of previously published articles the author has carefully edited the text to avoid unnecessary repetition and to link one article to the next. Part One takes up major figures and the aims of the Council. Part Two highlights the work of each session of the Council and identifies the Global Traits of its work. Throughout the attentive reader gains a solid appreciation of the Council’s teachings and with some reflection recognizes the value of that teaching for the Church today.

Beyond offering historical information and already established theological perspectives, Jared Wicks makes his own significant contribution toward valuing the work of Vatican II. Respectfully disagreeing with Massimo Faggioli, Wicks argues, along with others, that Lumen Gentium, not Sacrosanctum Concilium, offers the best key to understanding and interpreting the Council. Wicks sees ecclesiology as key to finding the unity of the Council’s divergent topics. The author provides an excellent outline of “Lumen Gentium, the Council’s Implementing Decrees and Declarations, and Later Texts” (pp. 195-196). With the outline one sees a unity in the nineteen texts of Vatican II as well as the ongoing implementations of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II. It would be interesting to see where Wicks would locate the contributions of Pope Francis.

Another contribution of Wicks that this reviewer valued only when reading the conclusion of the text, lies in the significance of Dei Verbum. He takes up the topic of Revelation in both parts of the book. He correctly identifies that the development of Dei verbum runs through the full length of the Council from the Pre-conciliar document De Fontibus Revelationis to the final session in 1965 which produced a very different text. The promulgated text reflects the theological development of the Council’s delegates, and, as Wicks proposes in his final chapter, highlights the place of Scripture in the Church. The document provides an ongoing call for the inward renewal for the Church’s members and the outward renewal of the Church for “the reconciling service of God in the world” (p. 257).

The author appears to be keenly aware of perspectives aligned with calls for a “reform of the reform” – though he does not use the phrase. Investigating Vatican II demonstrates the Council’s fidelity to the Councils of Trent and Vatican I while developing that teaching for a greater pastoral service by the Church in a very changed world. Wicks includes the letter of Paul VI to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre that addresses his concerns while also underlining the magisterial authority of the Council as well as the Bishop of Rome in directing its implementation.

Detailed footnotes and the inclusion of a wide range of scholarly perspectives assure the reader of the author’s sound research. The text reflects his work over a number of years securing accurate details of the Council and its work, as well as his considered reflection on the importance of the Council for the ongoing renewal of the Church. This solid text serves both academics, clergy and lay ministers well.