Church History II: Fourteenth Century to the Present

The course is an introduction to the study of the history of the Catholic Church from the 14th century to the present era. It presents three foci of this history, tracing the origin and develop-ment of each. First, Catholic Reform, the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent, through the Age of Absolutism and the rise of the nation-state. Second, the Tridentine Church and the French Revolution, with particular attention paid to the Age of Enlightenment and Rise of Liberalism. And third, the long road to the renewal and aggiornamento of Vatican II, including the relationship of the Church to the social question. The course also takes a look at the grand missionary enterprise undertaken during this period of history, highlighting in the process its links with the colonizing spirit of the time and its attempts to free itself from such a spirit. Finally, it also deals with Vatican II and the legacy it has bequeathed to the Church in the third millennium.