ABSTRACT
The texts of the Second Vatican Council can be interpreted in more than one way due to the open-ended, ambiguous language which the Council adopted. One of the ways in which Vatican II has been read focuses on the need for following “the spirit of Vatican II.” The hermeneutics of following “the spirit of the Council” consists of two elements. First, it emphasises the need for “creative fidelity” in the reading of the conciliar texts, and it considers the innovative elements contained in the text as the key to interpretation of the Council. Second, it stresses the importance of the style in which the documents of Vatican II were written. Since Vatican II decided to speak in a way which is different from that of the previous Councils, it is argued that this change of manner of speaking is where the general orientation and the main intention of the Council can be found.
