The second Vatican Council, which concluded in December 1965, inaugurated a reformation process in the Catholic Church that continues to this day. Grounding his discussion in the documents that came out of Vatican II, Robert Burns addresses four critical questions that face the Church largely as an outcome of this first truly global Church council.

First, Burns presents an overview of the evolving Roman Catholic understanding of Jesus Christ. He follows with an analysis of authority within the Church, a matter of some contention in today's democratic societies, and a discussion of...