In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder discuss Vatican Council II and its legacy. Their special guest is Douglas Bushman, S.T.L., Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute (Denver). He serves there as the Pope John Paul II Chair of Theology for the New Evangelization. He is the author of The Theology of Renewal for His Church: The Logic of Vatican II’s Renewal In Paul VI’s Encyclical Ecclesiam Suam, and Its Reception in John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Among the questions considered are the following.

1. What is a Council in the Church and, above all, what is an Ecumenical Council?

2. The word "aggiornamento" is very often associated with Vatican II. Could you tell us a bit about what it means?

3. Some suggest that the Church did not need Vatican II. Indeed, they point out the rapid decline in the number of religious vocations, attendance at Mass, and the loss of Catholic schools that took place after the Council. What do you think about this line of thought?

4. One often hears that because Vatican II was a pastoral council, its teachings do not have binding authority. Could you address the issue of the magisterial authority of Vatican II?

5. How can we discern the various levels of authority to be found in the conciliar documents?

6. Many people speak of the “spirit” of the Council as a reality different from the “letter” of the Council? Do these two realities exist?

7. Just recently, Archbishop Viganò claimed that at the Second Vatican Council — an ecumenical council of the Church — “hostile forces” promoted “the abdication of the Catholic Church” through a “sensational deception.” He added that “The errors of the post-conciliar period were contained in nuce in the Conciliar Acts,” What is your reaction to these comments?

8. St. John XXIII’s watchwards for the Council were "awareness, renewal, and dialogue." How could such optimism be reconciled with the widespread relativism denounced by Benedict XVI?

9. How does Vatican II help us to realize the universal call to holiness?

10. What is parresia and why is it crucial in the work of evangelization?