This program explores the Catholic Church in Australia during one of the most dynamic periods in its recent history, the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Vatican II challenged elements of Catholicism unquestioned since the 16th century. Pope John XXIII wanted to bring the church 'up to date' in a dynamic and fast changing world. Almost 50 years later this film explores how Vatican II changed Catholic practice, identity and faith through the personal stories of eminent and ordinary Australians. It also examines how the reforms of the Second Vatican Council are faring today in a time of rising conservatism in the church.
Set in the 1960s, Brides of Christ tells the story of a group of nuns in a fictitious inner city convent school in Sydney during a time of radical upheaval in society and in the Catholic Church. In the era of Vietnam and the Rolling Stones, established disciplines and rites are questioned in a collision between an ancient institution and the modern world. In this episode, some of the nuns find the changes of the Second Vatican Council hard to adopt, and a new lay teacher disrupts the establishment.
