It was 50 years ago this month, on Oct. 11, 1962, that the
Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) opened in St. Peter's
Basilica. Convoked by Pope John XXIII, it closed in December
1965 under Pope Paul VI. The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II)
was convened by Pope John XXIII on Oct. 11, 1962, in St. Peter's
Basilica. Vatican II was the 21st Ecumenical Council of the
Roman Catholic Church, and only the second to be held since the
highly significant Council of Trent in the 16th century. Vatican
I, the 20th Council, was convened in 1869-70 at a time of great
turmoil. The primary result, however, was the (questionable)
defining of papal infallibility as a dogma of the Church. By
contrast to Vatican I, which failed to deal substantively with
the contemporary problems of the rising influence of
rationalism, liberalism and materialism, Vatican II made many
momentous decisions and greatly changed the Roman Catholic
Church. The second volume of "Reclaiming Our Roots: An Inclusive
Introduction to Church History" by Mark