History of the Catholic Church (1962–present)
The post–Vatican II history of the Catholic Church is the recent history of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Background In the aftermath of World War II, religious existence came under fire from communist governments in Eastern Europe and China. Although some priests have since been exposed as collaborators, both the Church's official resistance and the leadership of Pope John Paul II are credited with helping to bring about the downfall of communist governments across Europe in 1991. The Church policies after World War II under Pope Pius XII focused on material aid to war-torn Europe, an internal internationalization of the Roman Catholic Church and the development of its worldwide diplomatic relations. His encyclicals, Evangelii praecones and Fidei donum, issued on June 2, 1951 and April 21, 1957, respectively, increased the local decision-making of Catholic missions, many of which became independent dioceses. Pius XII demanded recognition of local cultures as fully equal to European culture. In 1957, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association was established. Pius XII invoked ex cathedra papal infallibility by defining the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, as proclaimed in the Apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus. His forty-one encyclicals include Mystici corporis, on the Church