Benedict XVI’s hermeneutics of reform and its implication for the renewal of the church

Abstract

This article discusses Pope Benedict’s interpretation of the Second Vatican Council as exemplified in the idea of renewal in the continuity. In my argument, I seek to inquire how and to what extent this approach articulates the Second Vatican Council as an ecclesial reality, a living tradition and a place of theological conversation. All things considered, I argue that the authentic interpretation of the idea of ecclesial renewal and reform – in the context of the Council – requires not only a profound commitment to Christian truth, but also implies a critical investigation and willingness to take up a more balanced theological position. Contrary to a one-sided emphasis on either continuity or discontinuity, church renewal admits of a certain amenability to both approaches.