Read by Fr. Henry Wansbrough, O.S.B

Where does the Catholic Church stand 500 years after Luther and 50 years after Vatican II? In 1517, Martin Luther's protest ruptured Christendom. In the early 1960s, the Second Vatican Council concentrated its energy on understanding and overcoming the longstanding division between Catholics and Protestants with the hope of attaining unity. Taught by one of Catholicism's most influential biblical scholars, this series explores the reform efforts undertaken by three great Councils of the Church: Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II. Stimulating theological discussions, amusing anecdotes, personal recollections, and touches of British humor are never in short supply with Fr. Henry Wansbrough, O.S.B.-a member of the University of Oxford's theology faculty, General Editor of The New Jerusalem Bible, Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey, and one-time member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1997-2007). At the World Lutheran Congress in Lund, Pope Francis gave thanks for the dissenting 16th-century German friar. At the time of Luther's protest, the Church was indeed in need of reform. Pastoral care had fallen off and financial corruption had reached scandalously high levels. Spurred into action by Luther's protest, a reformation of the Catholic Church was led from within, by the papacy. It is a movement in which Fr. Wansbrough urges all Christians-not Catholics alone-to take an active part. By studying the efforts of the Councils, you will kindle hope for Christianity's future

Mode of access: World Wide Web