Fundamentals Of Catholic Dogma (Hard Cover)

I too find it very unfortunate that the author saw fit to incorporate errors of Vatican II in his later editions of this seminal work. I urge Angelus Press to remove this edition from sale.

Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma is an orthodox and detailed tool for the study of the faith. But still, there is an issue. What is not in the product description is the fact that this is the 11th Edition of Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma which has been updated in light of Vatican II. Ott took pains to interpret the council in the most positive light. Much of the work is fine but in some cases there are problems arising from the use of the Second Vatican Council's documents.

It would be good to have reprinted an earlier edition of this masterwork that doesn't have such content (I believe Ott first incorporated Vatican II into the text in the 8th edition so the 7th edition would probably be the one to have reprinted). The 11th Edition states that it is a theologically certain doctrine that a bishop receives both the power of sanctifying and of jurisdiction directly from God by virtue of ordination and bases this off of Vatican II. Meanwhile the 2nd Edition says that it is a probable doctrine that a bishop receives his pastoral power immediately from the Pope. The 2nd edition does note that the question is not settled in 1954 and presents the alternate view “that each individual bishop receives his pastoral power direct from God, as does the Pope.” It is sad to see that even a theological classic like this has not escaped the general theological confusion of the past 60 years since the Council began. Still, it has its uses.