From the comments @ Fr. Z's blog: What Happened at Vatican II by John W. O'Malley. He is also the author of The First Jesuits [Google books], which I have not read but have seen at the BC bookstore. (Or was it the USF bookstore? Or maybe it was SCU.) What is his reputation among Catholic historians? What would Fr. O'Connell (professor emeritus of history at ND) say about him? (Does Fr. O'Connell ever say anything critical with respect to the work of fellow academics and historians?)

Fr. O'Malley's page @ Georgetown
Fairfield University :: Church history scholar to present the 2005 Bellarmine Lecture
A faith’s new voice | Religion | projo.com | The Providence Journal

“We don’t need scolding,” said the Rev. John W. O’Malley, SJ, a Georgetown University theologian. “There have been problems and we need to hear about them. But people need solutions and they need encouragement” about how to press ahead.

Did he say anything besides this? This leaves me with a bad impression of him as a Catholic scholar and as a historian. After all, how many popes in the past 150 years have "scolded" their brother bishops for lack of leadership and responsibility?


The Spanish Inquisition: Fact Versus Fiction | Marvin R. O'Connell