The Second Vatican Council, its Hermeneutics and Reception

Fifty years ago the major religious event of the XX century succeeded: the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The council called by Pope John XXIII had as one of its main results the legitimation of the dialogue between Catholicism and modernity. Nevertheless, the council's reception still unfolds with countless debates and inquiries concerning its meaning and its place in the two thousand year history of ecumenical councils. Therefore, the issue of the hermeneutics of the council deepened in the past decades, especially under the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, which emphasized the theme due to some interventions and positions regarding the council's heritage. The purpose of this article is to understand some of the central controversies, focusing primarily on the concept of "reception".