Vatican II, Berkeley and Beyond: The First Half-Century of the Oakland Diocese, 1962-2012

In Vatican II, Berkeley and Beyond, Bishop John Cummins relates how enthusiastically laity, religious, and clergy in the Diocese of Oakland and beyond responded to encouragement to participate in renewal of the church promoted by the Second Vatican Council. The diocese offered models to lay parishioners for full participation in liturgy and the utilization of their talents in church governance, and it engaged university professors in dialogues about nuclear deterrence and the economy. In this spirit, Bishop Floyd Begin, the author’s predecessor, made it possible for Catholic theologians to carry on graduate studies alongside Protestant theologians in the ongoing search for Christian unity. Beyond the diocese, the author chaired a national committee of Catholic bishops, one of which engaged in dialogue with scientists of various faiths on the moral issues involved in scientific discoveries. As a bishop with responsibility for the church universal, the author also reports on his twenty-two-year role as liaison of the U.S. church to the rapidly growing Catholic Church in East and Southeast Asia.