Fifty years of Vatican II: real lights and urgent challenges

The article celebrates the 50th anniversary of Vatican II: its achievements and challenges. Among the reasons to celebrate, the article highlights the changes verified within the ecclesial perspective: the turning from a self-centered church to a church able to see and name the realities of the world and open to understand history as the place of divine revelation. The article also presents other contributions of the Council regarding the option for the poor people and other issue such as the laity, the religious life and the liturgy. Facing the winds of involution currently present in the Church, this article shows some challenges actually faced by Vatican II: the requirement of constant conversion, solidarity with the excluded peoples, equal participation of women in the church community, the majority participation of the laity, the ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with the "post-modernity". Finally, the text shows other challenges: the opening to the scientific development, the interdisciplinary vision of the world and the collaboration between different social classes in a pluralistic world.