When John XXIII announced his intention in January 1959 to convene an ecumenical council, the reaction within the Roman Catholic Church ranged from apprehension and suspicion on the part of conservatives to expressions of joyful anticipation and hope from Catholics who realized that their church must adapt to the demands of the modern world. The death of John XXIII in 1963 did not disrupt the momentum of Vatican Council II, which convened in 1962. His successor, Paul VI, continued the work of the council which addressed many issues such as ecumenism, liturgy, social justice, and the role of the laity, and when the council ended on December 8, 1965, it was apparent that changes would take place within Roman Catholicism. In this important book, Jay P. Corrin, Professor of Social Sciences at Boston University, examines the reactions of the English Catholic New Left to the council and how this group worked to implement its decrees, especially in the area of social issues, in the life of the Catholic Church.

Corrin divides his book into three distinctive but complimentary sections. The first, “The English Cultural Setting,” examines the conservative and ultramontane nature of English Catholicism. Irish immigration and the existence of old recusant families fostered an atmosphere unfriendly to change. The author describes the nature of Catholicism up to the 1960s as “insular, apolitical or at least politically conformist, highly authoritative, and out of touch with what was transpiring among Catholic theologians on both the Continent and in the United States” (19). But there had been hints of radical thought earlier in the century in the Distributist movement associated with G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. The author presents the thoughts of these two individuals and the importance of the Distributists on later radicalism in a concise and informative manner. By the end of World War II, however, a conservative spirit still dominated English Catholicism, but Corrin points out that Catholics, in particular the clergy, were slowly emerging out of a ghetto culture and forsaking the traditional siege mentality. By the early 1960s, a new breed of Catholic intellectuals emerged and began to question accepted social and theological standards.

Part Two, “The Reformers,” is an objective and well-balanced account of Vatican Council II and the important role played by John XXIII. To emphasize the revolutionary nature of the council, the author first reminds the reader of the conservative and reactionary ethos of Catholicism which had been enforced by the ultramontane papacy. Liturgical reform, the “New Theology,” which called for a reappraisal of the relation of the church to society, the insights of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the worker-priest movement posed serious threats to the orthodoxy and traditions of the Catholic Church, but the election of John XXIII and the council initiated changes favored by progressive thinkers. Corrin's discussion of this pope's vision for the church, his encyclicals, and the criticism he faced serve as an appropriate background for a brief but perceptive discussion of the council and its impact on English Catholicism. According to the author, “the changes called forth by Vatican Council II were not only unanticipated but also highly disturbing to many British Catholics” (155). Not surprisingly there were critics, but others welcomed the reforms.

This final section of the book, “The Revolutionaries,” is an excellent study of progressives who believed that the liberal reforms of the council were “insufficient to achieve what they saw to be the ultimate purpose of the Gospels: a revolutionary transformation of society toward the creation of a humanistic socialism” (6). The 1944 Education Act, which made higher education available to working-class Catholics, the publishing house Sheed and Ward, which made available to the public works of progressive theologians, the December Group, a forum which met to discuss Catholic leftist views, the important contributions of the Dominicans, and a questionable British foreign policy all helped to create the Catholic New Left. The radical journal Slant, launched in 1964, became the forum for this group to critique capitalism and conservative theology and a vehicle to promote the social goals of the Gospel. Corrin stresses the importance of this journal and recognizes the contributions of two Dominicans, Laurence Bright and Herbert McCabe, and others, such as, Terry Eagleton, Bernard Sharratt, Neil Middleton, who embraced the principles of Slant. By critiquing neo-Thomism and encouraging dialogue with Marxism, the New Left made enemies in the Catholic Church, and the censure of theologians Charles Davis and Fr. McCabe by church authorities demonstrated that the Vatican would not tolerate this perceived threat. It might appear that the Catholic New Left made little impact on English Catholicism because of opposition from ecclesiastical authorities and the laity who distrusted its revolutionary rhetoric and unrealistic goals, but this movement forced many to re-think the social implications of the Gospels.

This is an interesting and informative book based on solid research. The author places the story of the Catholic Left within the context of English Catholic history while not ignoring developments within European Catholicism and Vatican policies prior to the election of John XXIII. Corrin's analysis of conservative English Catholicism provides the necessary background to understand the desires of those Catholics eager for reform. A number of individuals, clerical and lay, appear in this story, and the author shows the contribution of each to the progressive cause as well as discussing the motives of the opposition to reform. The Slant movement played an important part in the Catholic Left circle and challenged many accepted Catholic positions, and Corrin presents a sympathetic and objective analysis of ideas this journal promoted. The conflict between the Slant group and Jacques Maritain‘s defense of neo-Thomism, for example, shows the dedication and commitment of the New Left to social change. This noteworthy book deals with the immediate reactions to Vatican Council II and also recognizes the legacy of the New Left. These progressives would applaud Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, and would also praise the words and actions of Pope Francis.