Many observers greeted the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) as the most important religious event in the twentieth century. Its implementation and impact are still being felt in the Catholic Church, the wider Christian world, and beyond. One sea change that Vatican II brought concerned Roman Catholic attitudes towards Judaism, Islam, and other religions. Gerald O'Collins breaks fresh ground by examining in detail five documents from the Council which embodied a new mind set about other religious faiths and mandated changes that quickly led to international and national dialogues between the Catholic Church and the followers of non-Christian religions. The book also includes chapters on the insights that prepared the way for the re-thinking expressed by Vatican II, and on the follow-up to the Council's teaching found in the work of Pope John Paul II and Jacques Dupuis. O'Collins ably illustrates how the Council made a startling advance in official Catholic teaching about followers of other living faiths. Carefully researched, the book is written in the clear, accessible style that readers of previous works by O'Collins will recognize.

This is a readable and highly informative survey of a wide range of material ... this is overall a masterful discussion by an experienced interpreter * Leo D. Lefebure, The Journal of Religion *
We should be grateful for O'Collins' courage and scholarship. This book should be used in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as by all scholars interested in this important debate [on other religions]. * James Heft, Theological Studies *
[F]ills a void. Those interested in studying and teaching Vatican II are indebted to O'Collins for providing such an important and needed resource. * Kristin Colberg, Heythrop Journal *

Australian-born Gerald O'Collins, SJ, AC, took his PhD at the University of Cambridge and taught at the Gregorian University (Rome) from 1973 to 2006, where he was also Dean of the Faculty of Theology (1985-91). He has written or co-written sixty published books (including Rethinking Fundamental Theology, Jesus Our Priest, and Salvation for All), authored hundreds of articles in professional and popular journals, and lectured at many universities and colleges in the UK, Ireland, USA, India, New Zealand, his native Australia, and elsewhere. As well as receiving numerous doctorates and other honorary awards, in 2006 he was created a Companion of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest civil honour granted through the Australian government.