ABSTRACT
A profound change had come over a large majority of the American bishops who attended that first, famous session of Ecumenical Council Vatican II, a change which was extended and deepened in 1963. The bishops could hardly think of themselves as part of a community. The range of views in the Church is far wider than the views of any particular bishop; until they arrived at the Council, many American bishops had never experienced such theological diversity. Many American bishops were willing to admit that they showed less theological, programmatic unity than the Germans or the French, and some agreed that they had much to learn from Northern Europeans in theological sophistication. On a more personal level, in conversation, the American bishops seemed generally kind and sympathetic; only a few seemed abrupt/misanthropic. The American bishops manifest, in short, a certain simplicity of character: they are certain of belonging to the one, true Church, and are neither critical nor restless.
