Magister profiles a new summary of a massive history of V2:

This Socratic role of the Bologna “workshop” seems to be even more accentuated in the “Brief History.” And this role concerns both the unfolding of the Council and its interpretation.

For Alberigo and the Bologna group, Vatican II is without question to be interpreted as “a new Council; one different, that is, from those of previous tradition.” Its novelty is represented by its being “more an event than a forum for the elaboration and production of norms,” a “new Pentecost” even more than a “collection of documents”: this novelty is seen as having emerged from John XXIII, who was immediately betrayed by Paul VI, the pope who in any case promulgated all the conciliar documents, and by his successors.

This interpretation was recently the target of criticism from an influential cardinal, Camillo Ruini, the pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome and the president of the Italian bishops’ conference. Last June 17, Ruini called for “a new reconstruction of Vatican II which will also be, finally, a true story.” And here is how he dismissed the approach of Alberigo and the Bologna group:

“The interpretation of the Council as a rupture and a new beginning is coming to an end. This interpretation is very feeble today, and has no real foothold within the body of the Church.”

But the fact remains that the five volumes produced by Alberigo continue to monopolize historical scholarship on Vatican Council II, and are still the most widely read and consulted source on the argument, throughout the world. Until a little while ago, the hegemony of the Bologna “school” over Catholic public opinion seemed to have no rivals of equal influence.