ABSTRACT
The chief story of the second session is the story of the erosion of a school of theology, the theology of the "prophets of doom". It is the story of the growing ascendancy of other theologies, more contemporary and more ancient, over the immobile and abstract theology which since the Reformation has predominated in the Church. The testimony of Rome, as the only remaining apostolic Church, is equivalent to an unbroken chain of tradition. For the Second Vatican Council is characterized by the depth of the theological conflict in its ranks. The Second Vatican Council is trying to come to grips with the world in which the Church of the twentieth century finds itself. It is trying to insert the Church back into the center of historical life, with respect for the moment of history in which it acts.
