General Introduction

Since 2016, more than 150 theologians from all over the world have been working on the intercontinental research project ‘The Second Vatican Council – Event and Mandate’, which is breaking new ground in terms of both content and methodology. The international research team is working on a twelve-volume, universal theological commentary on the Second Vatican Council, which will be published in English. The international research project is taking innovative paths to enable joint theological reflection across national and continental borders, leading to a polylogue of the universal church.Volume 1 describes the project and reflects on it from the various continental contexts and perspectives. It deals with a new reception of the Second Vatican Council in the pontificate of Pope Francis under the heading “World Church” and discusses postcolonial perspectives. These questions are linked exclusively to ecclesiological issues and the question of power and authority in the Church.