A panoply of distinguished Catholic and non-Catholic authors celebrate the anniversary of Vatican II.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first session of Vatican II (1962-65), a watershed event in the history of the church, whose meaning and interpretation continue to inspire heated debate. In this book fifty distinguished authors, including theologians, journalists, spiritual writers, and pastoral leaders, offer their own assessment of the meaning of the Council and its historic documents, drawing in many cases on their personal experience as witnesses or participants. The contributors are a "who's–who" of modern Catholic and non-Catholic voices: Francis Murphy (who, as "Xavier Rynne," penned an inside account of the Council for The New Yorker), Martin E. Marty, Lisa Sowle Cahill, John O'Malley, Joan Chittister, Gregory Baum, Michael Novak, Basil Pennington, Richard McBrien, Cardinal Avery Dulles, John Dominic Crossan, Joseph Komonchak, Brother Roger of Taizé, Cardinal Francis Arinze, Elizabeth Johnson, David Hollenbach, and many more.

Both for those who want to understand what happened at the Council, as well as those concerned about the state of the church today and the agenda for the future, these fifty personal stories provide an invaluable and inspiring resource.

William Madges is chair of the Department of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the editor of Vatican II: Forty Years Later.

Michael J. Daley teaches religion at Xavier High School, Cincinnati. He is the co-editor (with Thomas Groome) of Reclaiming Catholicism and, with William Madges, The Many Marks of the Church (Twenty-third Publications, 2006).