German and Swiss bishops who knew and worked with Father Hans Küng described him as a man who loved the Catholic Church, even though the theologian sometimes went beyond the limits of Catholic doctrine and criticized the decisions of church leaders.

Hans Küng was first in flair and media savviness among 20th-century theologians.

A new Vatican instruction seeks to ensure that there is order in the celebration of the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and that Masses are celebrated in accordance with the norms and spirit of the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council.

"[Vatican II] is the magisterium of the church. Either you are with the church and therefore you follow the council, or if you do not follow the council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the church."

At this juncture in American political and religious history, John Courtney Murray has something to say for the Catholic Church trying to recover a sense of itself in the public square.

History shows that authority in the church has taken many forms.