Voices of Vatican II

In Voices of Vatican II, twelve men who took part in the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) look back at that historic event half a century after the fact.

All the voices heard in this film are of bishops and priests—including Pope Benedict XVI—who participated in Vatican II and who, in most cases, have played important roles in the life of the Catholic Church over the subsequent decades.

Among the topics they discuss are Vatican II’s dramatic overtures toward other Christian churches, Jews and Muslims; the striking changes to Catholic worship and the role of laypeople that Vatican II ushered in; and the sometimes tense relations between the bishops at the council and the Vatican bureaucracy.

Voices of Vatican II features abundant archival footage of the council, much of it rarely seen, and exclusive interviews with those who recount the history they witnessed and helped to make.

© Catholic News Service/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops