Centre for the Study of the Second Vatican Council - Activities

Opening Centre's New Location

 

On March 3, 2011, the Centre for the Study of Vatican II will officially be re-opened at its new quarters, featuring better and more spatious archive storage facilities, as well as a large consultation room for researchers. The opening will be accompanied by speeches from the faculty dean, Prof. Lieven Boeve, the Centre's director, Prof. Mathijs Lamberigts, as well as one of the Centre's "founding fathers", Em. Prof. Jan Grootaers. 

Mgr. Willy Onclin Chair

 

On February 25, 2011, the Faculty of Canon Law, KULeuven, organized the Mgr. Onclin Chair lecture. The theme of the conference was "De plaats van het kerkelijk recht in de maatschappij en Kerk van morgen", and a keynote lecture was offered in this context by the director of the Centre, Prof. Mathijs Lamberigts. Lamberigts' presentation dealt with the relationship between Vatican II and the 1983 Code of Canon Law, under the title: "Kerkelijk recht. Noodzaklijke spelregels en mogelijke kansen!".

Conference at Université Laval "La théologie catholique entre intransigeance et renouveau"

From October 27 to 29, the Centre will be co-organizing an international conference at the Université Laval, Québec (Canada). The conference will study the shifting balances between catholic intransigentism and renewal throughout the twentieth century, in view of developing a proper hermeneutics of the Second Vatican Council and its place and role within the overall development of catholic theology and church life, as well as reach an improved understanding of the contemporary reception of the council. The conference is entitled "La théologie catholique entre intransigence et renouveau. La réception des mouvements préconciliaires à Vatican II", and is co-organized by Prof. Dr. Gilles Routhier, Drs. Philippe Roy, and Dr. Karim Schelkens. The conference is organized with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and of the Fondation Cardinal Maurice Roy.

Edition of Edward Schillebeeckx' Council Notes

 

The administration of the personal Archives of Prof. Mag. Edward Schillebeeckx (1914-2009) is presently entrusted to two study centres: The Katholiek Documentatie Centrum (KDC) at Radboud University in Nijmegen (the Netherlands), and the Leuven Centre for the Study of the Second Vatican Council. Since each centre only has supervision over a part of the archive, photocopies of the originals have been added in each location to compensate for the absent documents, thus allowing both centres access to the complete collection. The Leuven Centre, however, has responsibility for that portion of Schillebeeckx' personal archive related to the Second Vatican Council. In this collection, a manuscript of Schillebeeckx' personal notes taken during the First and Second Periods of Vatican II was recently discovered. As a result, a bilingual (Dutch-English) and critically annotated edition of this journal is currently being prepared. The Notes will be introduced by Prof. Erik Borgman, and publication is foreseen in the series Instrumenta Theologica. All of this is done with the permission of the late Edward Schillebeeckx, and in close collaboration with the Edward Schillebeeckx Foundation (Nijmegen, the Netherlands).

Book on Council History

 

In a collaboration of two Leuven church historians, Dr. J. Mettepenningen and Dr. K. Schelkens have published a volume on the history of the church from Vatican I to Vatican II, highlighting the theological developments in the interval period, and making clear that much of the Vatican II aggiornamento was well prepared in the preconciliar era.

Audio Recordings Online Accessible

 

The Centre has completed the process of digitizing a series of Master Tapes containing 43 interviews with, and speeches of various Vatican II protagonists. Among them one finds speeches by personnalities such as Joseph Ratzinger, Bernard Jan Alfrink, Giacomo Lercaro, Leo-Joseph Suenens, Marie-Dominique Chenu, dom Helder Camara, etc. All of these audio registrationsare readily accessible in MP3-format, and can be listened to on our Archives Pages.

Publication Willebrands Diaries

Recently, canon Leo Declerck has carefully editied the conciliar agendas of Msgr. Johannes Willebrands, later Cardinal of Utrecht and chair of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. This publication was presented at an international conference held on the occasion of the first centenary of Cardinal Willebrands. At the Utrecht conference, organized from 2-5 September 2009, the current edition was presented along with the edition of Willebrands's preconciliar diaries, published by Prof. Dr. Theo Salemink. These initiatives were organized in close collaboration with the Leuven Center for Ecumenical Study, led by Prof. P. De Mey. Leo Declerck's edition of the Conciliar Agendas, covering the period Willebrands acted as Secretary for the Secretariat for Christian Unity (SCUF), in particular the years of 1963-1965, offer a rich insight into the role and activities of the SCUF, as well a unique portrait of the richness of ecumenical contacts and events that occured during Vatican II. The Agendas were translated into French and published as: L. Declerck (ed.), Les agendas conciliaires de Mgr. J. Willebrands, secrétaire du secrétariat pour l'Unité des chrétiens. Préface par Th. Stransky (Instrumenta Theologica, 31), Leuven, Peeters, 2009. ISBN 978-90-429-2217-14.

Book on Vatican II's Shema "De Fontibus"

 

In recent literature on the history of the Second Vatican Council, the schema De fontibus revelationis is a constant point of reference. In most cases, its utter rejection during the conciliar debate on revelation, biblical exegesis, and the nature of Scripture and Tradition, is regarded as a milestone for the council's development. This book is devoted to the background, genesis, and evolution of that very document, and offers a critical revision of the way in which the document has been received in conciliar historiography, based upon a study of archival material. The result is a new approach, not only of the conciliar revelation debate, but also of the way in which the conciliar preparation period has been regarded up until the present day.

Acts of the 2005 Conference on “The Belgian Contribution to Vatican II”

 

The Acts of the 2005 conference have been published with Peeters:

D. DONNELLY - J. FAMERÉE - M. LAMBERIGTS - K. SCHELKENS (eds.), The Belgian Contribution to the Second Vatican Council. International Research Conference at Mechelen, Leuven, and Louvain-la-Neuve (September 12-16, 2005) (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 216), Leuven, Peeters, 2009. ISBN 978-90-429-2101-6.

This vast volume offers a broad survey of studies devoted to the "Squadra belga" and their role, activities, and influences at Vatican II. An international team of scholars has collaborated, making the volume into one of the best overviews of Belgian Council participation up to the present day.

Conference 'Vatican II in Canada' at St. Paul's University, Ottawa

 

From October 15 to 16, an international research conference took place on the theme of ‘Vatican II in Canada’. This colloquium, organised at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa, constituted the closing panel of a triptych of academic conferences held at various locations in Canada, and organised on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of John XXIII’s announcement of the Second Vatican Council (January 25, 1959). That occasion elicited a team of scholars from three Canadian faculties of theology and religious studies, in part supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SHRC/CRSH), to invite international and Canadian Vatican II scholars to attend these conferences. The first conference in the programme was organised at the Faculté de théologie et de sciences religieuses, of the Université Laval (Québec), under the auspicies of Prof. Dr. Gilles Routhier, from February 2 to 3. The second part of the triptych took place from May 4-6 at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, and was led by Prof. Dr. Michael Attridge. And finally, the aforementioned Ottawa conference at St. Paul’s was carefully organised by Prof. Dr. Catherine Clifford. at the latter conference both the founder of the Centre for the Study of Vatican II, Prof. Jan Grootaers, and one of its members, Dr. Karim Schelkens, were invited to offer lectures.

Conference "L'Autorité et les autorités"

 

Members of the Center for the Study of Vatican II will be attending an international conference on the theological hermeneutics of Vatican II at the Université Laval (Québec). The conference is organized by the Université Laval, the Institut Catholique de Paris and the Université Catholique de Louvain, and will take place from March 3-5, 2008. These three francophone are engaged in an interdisciplinary research project on the hermeneutics of Vatican II.

International Centenary Conference on Cardinal Willebrands

 

From September 2-5, 2009, an international conference was held at Utrecht, the Netherlands, devoted to the study of the late Cardinal J.G.M. Willebrands. During this conference, special attention was devoted to Willebrands' life as an ecumenist before and during the Second Vatican Council, and to Willebrands' role in the Jewish-Christian dialogue. The conference also provided the occasion for the presentation of the Willebrands diaries, editied in collaboration with the Leuven Centre.