The Contributions of John O’Malley, SJ, to the Ongoing Reception of Vatican II

This article analyzes the major contributions of John O’Malley, S.J. and the reception of the Second Vatican Council, especially in light of his book What Happened at Vatican II but also in the context of his other books on the council of Trent and on Vatican I. O’Malley’s contributions are particularly important in the context of what can be called a crisis of reception of Vatican II and of an ecclesial disruption. But it is relevant for Catholic theology and Catholic higher education because the current ecclesial and theological crisis has, among its causes, also a lack of sense of history and of historical understanding of the Church and of the theological and magisterial tradition.