2016 - Ecclesiology (Brill) - Lumen gentium’s Pneumatological Renewal. A ‘Work in Progress’

Congar famously stated that Vatican II 'has begun to give back to us the pneumato-logical dimension of the Church .... Has begun, we said, for the Council stopped half-way'. This article explores how Lumen gentium (LG) conceives the Holy Spirit, how that conception renders the pneumatological dimension of the Church, and how the renewal stops halway. We will see that LG is more consistent in refering to the Holy Spirit than Mystici corporis (MC, 1943) and that LG is more specific in articulating the Spirit's active contribution to the Church than MC. Genetical exploration reveals that both developments are (also) the fruit of Conciliar deliberations. Yet textual and genetical exploration suggests LG sometimes still overlooks the Holy Spirit and treats the Spirit in isolation , and that LG sometimes still is Christ and hierarchy focused.