Observer in Rome

This is a lively, perceptive report by one of the best qualified of the Protestant Observers in attendance at the Vatican Ecumenical Council in the fall of 1963. Dr. Brown's purpose is to give the reader something of the ""feel"" of the day-by-day developments of the Council. He casts the report in the form of a daily diary, edited out of a more extended daily record and commentary he kept while in attendance at the sessions. This format allows the reader to sense the drama of the Council as it moved from one significant emphasis to another. The narrative moves to a climax with the debates and maneuvers centering on the document intended to set forth the position of the Roman Catholic Church with respect to other branches of the Church and other faiths, De Oecumenismo. The author can be sharp and precise in his statement of what he believes to be the limitations of some Catholic positions, but he manages to do so in a spirit of ""speaking the truth in love."" His gift of wit and of being able to see the light as well as the momentous aspects of the Council events adds greatly to the readability of the work. A notable contribution to the literature dealing with the Councils.