Giuseppe Alberigo (

Cuasso al Monte Cuasso al Monte is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northeast of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,252 and an area of .All demo ...

, 21 January 1926 –

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, 15 June 2007) was an Italian Catholic historian and editor of a history of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

that focuses on alleged discontinuities and departures from previous Church teaching.

Biography

Giuseppe Alberigo received a graduate degree in law, studying under the German historian

Hubert Jedin Hubert Jedin (17 June 1900, in Groß Briesen, Friedewalde, Silesia – 16 July 1980, in Bonn) was a Catholic Church historian from Germany, whose publications specialized on the history of ecumenical councils in general and the Council of Trent in p ...

, under Delio Cantimori in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. and under the diocesan vicar and monk

Giuseppe Dossetti Giuseppe Dossetti (13 February 1913 – 15 December 1996) was an Italian jurist, a politician, and from 1958 onward, a Catholic priest. Political career Dossetti was born in Genoa, the son of a piedmontese pharmacist and a mother from Regg ...

who was one of the most influential progressives at the

. Alberigo's most important work was the direction of the editorial initiative Storia del Concilio Vaticano II, but its progressive character did not have unanimous acceptance among Catholics, with critical reviews appearing in

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...

. The work of Giuseppe Alberigo and the " School of Bologna" is criticized because it supports the

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

of discontinuity, an interpretation of the Second Vatican Council which considers it a crucial event that marks a turning point in the history of the Catholic Church. Following the presentation of the bill on the " Rights and duties of people living together" (DiCo) presented by the ministers

Rosy Bindi Maria Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi (; born 12 February 1951) is an Italian politician and the former President of the Antimafia Commission. Career Born in Sinalunga (Tuscany), she graduated in political science. She was standing near the lawyer Vittor ...

and

Barbara Pollastrini Barbara Pollastrini (born 30 September 1947 in Darfo Boario Terme, Province of Brescia) is an Italian politician and university professor. During the Protests of 1968, she joined the Maoist organization Servire il Popolo, becoming also the dir ...

and the criticisms coming from the ecclesiastical hierarchy, on 13 February 2007 Alberigo promoted a public appeal in which he invited the

Episcopal Conference of Italy The Italian Episcopal Conference ( it, Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy. The conference was founded in 1971 and carrie ...

to not intervene in a proposal for an official vote among Italian Catholic politicians. The bill has never been approved. On 20 April 2007, after his admission to the hospital

Policlinico Sant'Orsola-Malpighi The Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic (official Italian name: ''Azienda ospedaliero-universitaria Policlinico Sant’Orsola Malpighi'') is a university and public hospital. The Polyclinc is the largest hospital (beds) in Italy, and the first of t ...

, Alberigo's relatives were informed by the Bologna Prefect Vincenzo Grimaldi that the President of the Republic

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

had conferred on him the honor of a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Italian Republic, saying that his was "an authoritative voice emphasizing with critical awareness the importance of the contribution of Catholic culture in the debate on ideas in our country.

Works

* ''Giuseppe Dossetti. Un itinerario spirituale'', in collaboration with Melloni Alberto, Ravignani Eugenio Edizioni Nuova Dimensione, 2006 * ''Breve storia del concilio Vaticano II (1959-1965)'', Il Mulino editions, 2005 * ''Papa Giovanni (1881-1963)'', EDB editions, 2000 * ''Dalla laguna al Tevere. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli da S. Marco a San Pietro'', Il Mulino editions, 2000 * ''Storia del Concilio Vaticano II

ol 4 OL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Orphaned Land, an Israeli progressive metal band * Old Lace (comics) a telepathically linked dinosaur hero Businesses and organizations * OLT Express Germany (IATA code: OL), a scheduled and charter airl ...

', Ed. Il Mulino, 1999 * ''Il Concilio adulto. Il secondo periodo e la seconda intersessione (Settembre 1963-settembre 1964)'', Il Mulino, 1998 * ''Il cristianesimo in Italia'', Edizioni Laterza, 1997 * ''Chiesa santa e peccatrice'', Edizioni Qiqajon, 1997 * ''Il concilio di Trento. Istanze di riforma e aspetti dottrinali'' in collaboration with Scarpati Claudio, Alberigo Giuseppe Edizioni Vita e Pensiero, 1997 * ''Il cristianesimo in Italia'', Mondadori, 1992 * ''La pace: dono e profezia'' in collaboration with Enzo Bianchi, Carlo Maria Martini, Edizioni Qiqajon, 1991, 2nd ed. * ''Storia dei concili ecumenici '' (cur.), Editrice Queriniana, 1990. * ''La riforma protestante. Origini e cause'', Editrice Queriniana, 1988, 2nd ed.

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (18 April 2007)

References

External links

Giuseppe Alberigo
in ''Dizionario biografico degli italiani'', Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alberigo, Giuseppe 1926 births 2007 deaths Second Vatican Council Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic