Alessandro Sintoni

This research project aims to reconstruct the “doctrinal policy” of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith through its acts and documents during the pivotal period between the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council (1965) and the end of the pontificate of Paul VI (1978). Moving beyond a mere analysis of individual pronouncements, the study investigates the institutional history of the former Holy Office, examining the survival of an ecclesiological framework rooted in the controversialist tradition within the reformed Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). The central hypothesis posits a progressive alignment between the doctrinal line of the Pontiff and that of the CDF. This policy was characterized by a specific methodological approach that prioritized the “recent ordinary magisterium” as the primary criterion for doctrinal formulation. By analyzing the turnover of key personnel and examining emblematic doctrinal cases—such as the proceedings involving Hans Küng and Edward Schillebeeckx, and the influential role of Consultors of the Congregation—this work seeks to understand how the Roman Curia navigated the sense of doctrinal crisis that Pope and Congregation percieved was underway in a secularizing world.