Werbiści a geneza dekretu Ad gentes
Divine Word Missionaries and the genesis of the decree Ad gentes

Summary/Abstract: One of the most fascinating episodes of the Second Vatican Council is the history of the decree Ad gentes. Various mission commissions were working on it for four years. They came up with six different versions, the last of which was rejected on 9 November 1964. Fashioning the decree was made possible by the victory of the reformist wing within the Council, represented mainly by the bishops from the missionary territories and the superiors of the missionary orders. Among them was the chief architect of the decree, Fr Johannes Schutte, superior general of the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD), friend of cardinal Josef Frings of Cologne. Thanks to the support of the missionary bishops, he became the promoter of the missionary document. Fr Schutte enlisted to the editorial subcommittee on the decree, working in Nemi, the best experts, like Y. Congar and J. Ratzinger.

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