Vatican II and the Culture of Dissent

At Crisis Magazine (available online from the Feb/Mar '06 issue in the archives), from Russell Shaw:

The election of Pope Benedict XVI was a serious blow to the culture of dissent. As far back as the early 1970s, Joseph Ratzinger knew that some of his theological colleagues from the Vatican II days no longer took the documents of the council as “the point of reference for Catholic theology.” Instead, they had decided that the council’s teaching had to be “surpassed” in order to bring about the changes they sought.

Neither then nor now has Benedict XVI shared that view. Speaking to the cardinals the morning after his election as pope, he declared it to be his “decided will” that the implementation of the Second Vatican Council continue. “The conciliar documents have not lost their timeliness,” he added significantly.

Take them off the shelf and see for yourself.