Bernhard Häring at the Second Vatican Council - his Significance and Influence

The article seeks to describe the role and impact of B. Häring on Vatican II. The beginning focuses on the phase before the Council, when Häring published his first systematic work Das Gesetz Christi (The Law of Christ), in which he offered an overview of moral theology. In his work he attempted to renew this discipline by detaching it from Canon Law and directing it towards other disciplines, such as Spiritual Theology, Sacramental Theology and Pastoral Theology. Some examples of his different approach to moral theology include the areas of theological anthropology - particularly regarding questions of conscience. The article goes on to describe the time of the Council consultations, during which Häring worked as a secretary in the preparation of important documents such as Lumen gentium, Gaudium et spes, Optatam totius, etc. The author of this article uses Acta of Vatican II, Häring's autobiographical works, and materials which are still unpublished for sources - including Häring's notes, which were still in the monastery where he died. Häring's voice was not silent after the Council. He continued with public discussion about moral problems - even exploring further the idea that there are no questions solved once and for all. (After the Pope published his encyclical Humanae vitae, for example, Häring used his moral theological reasoning to express his dissent.) The entire article summarizes Häring's concept of renewed moral theology and underscores his personal legacy, a legacy which forces us even at present to discover, discuss and change our way of life by asking challenging questions.

Keywords: Renewal of Moral Theology; Second Vatican Council; Theological Anthropology; Conscience