The inspiration for public theology lies in the Catholic belief that the church has a role in transforming the wider society under the influence of the Gospel.

Pope Francis: "At times, I find myself in front of persons who are very rigid. And I ask myself: How come such rigidity?”

The diaries of Yves Congar, the single most important theologian of Vatican II.

An ordinary Sunday morning. I decide to go to a church that celebrates the Latin Mass every Sunday.

On this day in 1965, the Vatican II’s “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,” also known as “Nostra Aetate,” was promulgated by the council—despite surprises, shocks and setbacks along the way.

Churches and cathedrals are not merely temples built according to some preconceived pattern to honor the deity, an enterprising designer or a loyal benefactor. They are powerful epiphanies or metaphors of what the church is, how it behaves and what it stands for in the modern world.