THE CHANGING VATICAN

This volume is drawn from the series of reports and articles written by the author for the Corrire della Sera of Milan, in the fall of 1965. The deliberations of Vatican Council II provide the background, but the foreground material consists chiefly of interviews with important Vatican figures, beginning with an interview with Pope Paul VI (""the first papal interview in history"") and continuing with interviews with Cardinal Colombo, Cicognani, Ottaviani, Bea, and others, on both the ""conservative"" and the ""progressive"" alignments in the Vatican II deliberations. The focus of these reports is the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church. The author avoids theological and ecclesiastical issues, in the strict sense, and confines himself to consideration of the institutional, political, and sociological aspects of the Church. He writes as a ""layman,"" but it is not clear whether he uses this designation as one of the faithful or as a man from the secular world. His general tone suggests the latter. Although he seeks to avoid judgmental statements, his assessments of conditions and developments in the Vatican are not without critical perceptions. His general conclusion would appear to be one of limited optimism about the possibility of real reform or change in the Church. Because of its different perspective this book should be an informative addition to current literature about the Vatican Councils and the future of the Roman Catholic Church.