The "hermeneutic of reform" and religious freedom

That is the title of a recent article by Martin Rhonheimer. Rhonheimer's article is the subject of this very interesting piece by Sandro Magister. Rhonheimer discusses Dignitatis Humanae and explores what he contends is the discontinuity between Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty and prior papal writing on the topic. I think Rhonheimer places too much emphasis on Dignitatis Humanae's brief discussion of the issue of the confessional state. Russell Hittinger has noted that the Vatican II Declaration on religious liberty is largely silent on that issue. But Rhonheimer's article looks to be a very interesting perspective on this contested matter.

Richard M.