Common Prayer 60 Years After Vatican II: Steps Forward, Sticking Points and New Frontiers

Sixty years ago the Second Vatican Council inaugurated what would be a sea change in the way Christians prayer, not only in the Catholic communion, but across Western Christianity. The intervening decades have seen some steps forward, some sticking points, and new challenges to common prayer. In this issue of the Australian Journal of Liturgy, Jenny O'Brien addresses one of those sticking points, the place of women in liturgical ministry. Joseph Grayland addresses the intersection of Christian liturgy and the climate crisis in conversation with Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato Si'. On the practical side, Nathan Nettleton reflects on several years of "online only" services in his own congregation, while Bryan Cones addresses presiding informed by the post-conciliar recovery of the assembly as the primary actor in the liturgy.