Abstract: Despite the Catholic Church’s majority status and deep historical influence in Rwanda, Catholic reconciliation work in postgenocide Rwanda has received scant scholarly attention. This article addre...

Abstract: In the 1990s William Stoeger, S.J., contributed major essays on the laws of nature to the series of conferences on divine action that were cosponsored by the Vatican Observatory and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union Berkeley, CA. He argued that the laws of nature are to be seen as approximate models rather than as complete descriptions of nature, and that they are descriptive rather than prescriptive. These essays, Denis Edwards proposes, are an important legacy for 21st-century theology and offer creative possibilities for a renewed theology of divine action that builds on the Thomist tradition.

Abstract: This article gathers and develops some fragmentary suggestions made by theologians and Pope John Paul II about tradition as the collective memory of the church. In the light of insights coming from anthropology, history, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and sociology, the article proposes twelve ways for enriching a theology of tradition. Modern memory studies can unite and clarify various aspects of a theology of tradition, understood as collective memory.

Abstract: The article explores the possibility of a new collaborative venture in systematic theology based in the work of Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran. A prospectus is offered of five volumes intended a...

Abstract: Pope Francis consistently addresses economic issues with the concept of idolatry, but Gaudium et spes treats the economy as an autonomous, secular realm amenable to technocratic solutions guided by...

Abstract: Priest, prophet, and king are three offices attributed to Christ. The threefold office is used in Vatican II as an overarching framework in its articulation of the nature of the church and the part...

Abstract: Christian engagement with nonbelievers is problematic when believing itself proves difficult even for people of faith. A recovery of the original unity of the fides quae (the “content” of faith hel...

Abstract: Although the modern ecumenical movement has existed for more than a century, the Roman Catholic Church’s involvement began only some 50 years later. In fact, 2014 commemorates only the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Unitas redintegratio, Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism. This article traces the ecumenical movement from its beginnings, focusing on the contributions of the World Council of Churches and the progress made by Roman Catholicism. It concludes by pointing to issues which World Christianity is exploring as the ecumenical agenda for the 21st century.

Abstract: After reviewing some previous contributions to the discussion of continuity and change in the Christian tradition, the article suggests another way of thinking about the problem by using Pierre Bou...

Abstract: Vatican II’s aggiornamento sought to reach out to the modern world with the message of the gospel in a way that was intelligible to the contemporary world. Fundamental theology was expected to play...

Abstract: The article argues that the Catholic category of “private revelation” in concert with the Church’s ecclesial documents, theological reflections, and spiritual practices allows the Qur’an in principle to be considered revelatory. After reviewing recent dogmatic developments on revelation and religious pluralism, the article discusses the theology that undergirds the Catholic understanding of private revelation and finally applies the language of private revelation to Muhammad’s experience in Mecca and Medina.

Abstract: Surely technical issues advance the need to rethink the structures of the Catholic Church’s central government in Rome. But the real macro issue is the role of Vatican II and its ecclesiology for t...

Abstract: This article aims at enriching the global theology of Jesus Christ by offering a contribution to Christology from an Eastern European perspective. Such Christology emerges in the context of the exp...

Abstract: The past two decades have seen significant developments in the field of biblical ethics. The article looks at these in three dimensions so as to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the ef...

Abstract: Communio ecclesiology has attracted a considerable theological following, but this article dwells on other avenues for relating the Trinity to the life of the church. A more traditional approach would relate the church to the processions and missions of the Son and Spirit. Moreover the recent development of Lonergan’s four-point hypothesis offers a more profound account of the church as an “icon” of the Trinity. Not only are such approaches more solidly grounded in trinitarian theology; they also provide interesting opportunities for relating the church to other religious traditions.

Abstract: The publication between 2000 and 2004 of Joseph Blenkinsopp's 3-volume Anchor Bible commentary on Isaiah marked a significant development in Isaiah studies. Many of the articles and books now published in the field cite Blenkinsopp - evidence of how his commentary is influencing and helping shape the future direction of Isaiah studies. In A Light to the Nations twelve of today's leading scholars on the book of Isaiah contribute essays exploring distinct issues that arise from critical study of the text. The essays as a whole reflect the highest echelon of Isaiah studies. Each essay acknowledges and comments on the exegetical contributions of Blenkinsopp, and the references to this influential scholar provide coherence and distinction to the collection.

Abstract: The article reconsiders Anselm’s “ontological argument” by contextualizing it within the conjunction of Neoplatonist exemplarist metaphysics and Christology in the Augustinian tradition of trinitar...

Abstract: The article analyzes Jewish–Catholic relations with respect to New Testament interpretation, the apostle Paul, and theology. In the New Testament era, Paul promoted God’s openness to Gentiles. In r...

Abstract: of mind, and Thomas Aquinas’s appropriation of Aristotle. Rahner’s method focused, in part, on the anthropocentric foundation of the truths of the Christian faith. Rahner understood the realities of the faith as the keys that unlock the multiple mysteries of what it means to be a human being: theology is anthropology, and anthropology is theology. Rahner’s critical reverence for the Christian tradition, coupled with his keen sense of the needs of the contemporary world, produced a holistic approach to Christianity that makes its truths more intelligible and credible. B.’s book makes this holistic approach plain. A 1960s article in The National Catholic Reporter dismissed Rahner’s theology as woefully abstract, spiritually and pastorally sterile, and irrelevant for Christian living. B., agreeing with Rahner, seeks to correct this view. He asserts that the more scientific theology is, the more spiritually and pastorally relevant it will be; he also points out that many of Rahner’s works are sermons, homilies, contemplations, prayers, and timely spiritual and pastoral pieces, written for specific audiences in particular moments. Chapter 5 contains reflections on how profoundly Rahner influenced B.’s own priestly spiritual and pastoral life—B.’s meditations on Mother Teresa and John Updike should not be missed. Although somewhat less than trenchant, the epilogue, “Defending Rahner against His Critics,” adequately shows that Rahner not only easily refuted his detractors but also assimilated and creatively deepened their valid insights. The epilogue also underscores Rahner’s enduring influence in the theological world. As I have often said, “Karl Rahner always buries his undertakers.”