Whatever happened at the Second Vatican Council, no other event has so transformed the way both Catholics and non-Catholics look at the Church. From claims of a Council in full continuity with Tradition which has merely been misinterpreted, to those who see in it a dramatic rupture with the integral whole of the past, the event continues to raise questions.
 
As with any major historical event, it is only after considerable time has elapsed that a fuller story can emerge. Here, Professor de Mattei applies a lucid, literate, and philosophical mind to thorough scholarly research and mountains of documentation to bring us that story.
 
Picking up where Wiltgen's The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber left off, readers will gain further insight into the Vatican II backstory and be able to make more sense of the present.