Until Vatican II (1962–1965) pronouncements of the Catholic Church were deduced from objective truths expressed in essentialist, ahistorical language. In contrast, the sixteen documents of the Twentieth Ecumenical Council are marked by a sense of historicity. Analogously, before Vatican II, authority in the church was exercised in a monarchical manner. In the documents of Vatican II, collegiality and subsidiarity became hallmarks of authentic authority.

The Methodological Shift

Neither the implications of historicity for morality and doctrine nor a more inclusive understanding of the exercise of authority have run a smooth course since the close of the council. Nothing, however, that has transpired during that time remains unaffected by these two characteristics that permeated the council's deliberations. Indeed one's attitude toward the work of the council is most frequently dictated by one's acceptance or nonacceptance of the paradigm shift in ecclesial self-understanding occasioned by...