The Image of "Aggiornamento" 1959-1965 : the Coverage of the Second Vatican Council by "Time"," Newsweek", and "U.S. News and World Report"

The problem: How did three, major, American magazines -- "Time", "Newsweek", and "U.S. News & World Report" -- cover the Second Vatican Council and Roman Catholic renewal between 1959 and 1965? What were the publications' attitudes, emphases, expectations, and qualities regarding their reporting of the council? Procedure: Pope John XXIII announced Vatican II in January 1959; and Pope Paul VI solemnly closed the council, after four sessions, in December 1965. Consequently the three news magazines' coverage of the Catholic Church during a seven year period was methodically researched. Moreover, relevant primary and secondary sources on the press, the church, and the council provided a needed perspective on the journals' reportage and a basis with which to evaluate it. Conclusions: The image of "aggiornamento -- the image of the council and Catholic renewal -- fluctuated between January 1959 and December 1965, and varied according to the character of the individual periodicals. Nevertheless the changing Catholic Church was the dominant religious news during the early 1960's. And despite some very critical reporting, the church received a wealth of favorable publicity that transformed its public image.

Grantor dc:publisher

Drake University

Year dc:date.issued

1976

Author dc:creator

• Wilkinson, Patrick J.

• Time, inc.--Reporters and reporting
• Newsweek, inc.--Reporters and reporting.
• U.S. News and World Report, inc.--Reporters and reporting
• Vatican Council (2nd: 1962-1965)--Press coverage
• Catholic church--Doctrines--Reporters and reporting

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Dc Identifier Other

1976 .W654

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:escholarshare.drake.edu:2092/584