The Second Vatican Council, now more than 40 years since its conclusion, affected and continues to affect the Roman Catholic populations around the world. This research examines a group of 15 people who agreed to participate in a study to examine their personal and lived experiences with the outcomes of the Council.

In-depth interviews with the 15 individuals were used to gain the information necessary to determine how factions of Catholics who were not included in the decision making process of Vatican II felt about the changes that affected this very important aspect of their lives.

This hermeneutic, phenomenological survey examines the main themes that emerged from qualitative interviews with the research participants. These topics are: ecumenism, the Baltimore Catechism, the habit, discipline, the future of the Catholic Church, the role of the laity, Catholic Social Justice, guilt, educational experiences, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and outside influence that were taking place during the time of the Council. Utilizing the above stated method of research proved beneficial in determining the essence of both the primary and secondary meanings behind the information gathered from the participants.

The make-up of the participants falls into three groups. The first group onsists of lay members of the Catholic Church who are still practicing members. This group contained married members, single members, divorced members, and widowed members. The second group is comprised of lay members who have left the Catholic Church and the third group is comprised of members of male and female religious orders, some of whom were professed during the time of Vatican II and some who joined their order(s) after Vatican II.

The findings of this research give insights about how these groups of Catholics felt about the changes that took place in their Church and what they see as needed changes to ensure its continuation into the next century.