In 1976, as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s defiance of Rome broke into open crisis, the Dominican ecclesiologist Yves Congar, OP — whose work shaped the Second Vatican Council — answered with this short, penetrating book. Congar shows that what Lefebvre refused was nothing less than the authority of the Church and her understanding of her own nature, and he traces the deeper crisis behind the Écône movement.
Published on the fiftieth anniversary of its first appearance, this new English edition arrives just as Écône once again proceeds to illicit episcopal consecrations. Congar’s case for Tradition as the living faith of the Church, not a frozen monolith, speaks directly to a wound that has never closed.
This edition is translated by Paul Inwood, carries a foreword by Larry Chapp and an afterword by Andrew Mioni, and is edited and introduced by Andrew Likoudis. It is co-published with the Likoudis Legacy Foundation.
"Here is a new edition of a penetrating book by Congar, which comes at just the right time. Written in simple language, it provides the essential insights needed to understand the errors and dead ends of Archbishop Lefebvre's schismatic movement."
Joseph Famerée, SCJ, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Theology, UCLouvain; author of L’ecclésiologie d’Yves Congar avant Vatican II"‘You cannot be the Church opposed to the Church.’ Such was the painful and prophetic appeal that Fr Congar addressed to Archbishop Lefebvre in 1976… Fifty years on, Congar’s appeal has lost none of its force. Following his example, let us not be afraid to awaken consciences and enlighten minds."
Fr. Henry Donneaud, OP, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Institut Catholique de Toulouse; editorial committee, Revue thomiste"Yves Congar offers a masterful and deeply charitable examination of one of the most consequential ecclesial controversies of the twentieth century. With theological precision and pastoral wisdom, he challenges readers to embrace both fidelity to tradition and obedience to the living Church."
Sebastian Mahfood, OP, PhD, President of En Route Books and Media"Challenge to the Church is as relevant today as it was in 1976… Congar, deeply conversant with the Council and its aims, addresses the traditionalists’ accusations with erudition, objectivity, and above all a love of the People of God… it is refreshing to read a man whose overarching concern is communion based on love."
Gary Campbell, former priest of the Society of St. Pius XStay connected with the Foundation
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