An Intellectual Portrait of Pope John Paul II

Worldview ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
George Huntston Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
The Past ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Lay Women ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Patron Saints ◽  
Santa Maria ◽  
The Church ◽  
First Words

Appearing on the balcony of St. Peter's, his first words as supreme pontiff were: “May Jesus Christ be praised!” At the close of the installation eucharist John Paul II lifted high the papal crozier, redesigned by Pope Paul as a staff surmounted by the crucified Christ. In all his utterances to date the new pope has emphasized Christ as the hope of the world but has also lifted up the mankind Christ came to save. He has illuminated the variousness of this mankind, from the individual in all his loneliness, even his alienation, to persons in collectivities of family, class, race, and nation. He has described many Christians too as people often filled with doubt about their ultimate meaning to themselves or for others, both on the level of social relations of all kinds and in the redemptive community of the Church. John Paul closed his installation homily: “I appeal to all men—to every man (and with what veneration the apostle of Christ must utter this word, ‘man’)—pray for me.“Some days later John Paul visited Santa Maria Sopra Minerva and declared that he dedicated his pontificate to the Dominican tertiary St. Catherine of Siena (d. 1380). This was one further gesture of his identification with the Italian people as their national primate, for St. Catherine and St. Francis of Assisi are the two patron saints of Italy. But he was also signaling his intention, in his choice of a lay woman, a reformer, a crusader, a mystic, and a doctor of the Church (so proclaimed in 1970), to assign high positions of decisionmaking to lay women and to female religious of all orders in recognition of the prominent role women have played in the past and of the much greater role, short of the priesthood, they would be playing under his pontificate.

Practising piety in a (post-) pandemic time: A spatial reading of piety in Psalm 66 from the perspectives of memory and bodily imagery

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lodewyk Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Body Imagery ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Practical Theological ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Exodus Narrative ◽  
The Church

Situated in the larger collection of Psalms 51–72, also known as the second Davidic Psalter, the smaller group of Psalms 65–68 is found. This smaller collection of psalms can be classified mostly as psalms of praise and thanksgiving. The relation and compositional work in this cluster of psalms become apparent on many points in the pious expressions between groups and persons at prayer, especially in the universal praise of God, and in the imagery referring to the exodus, the Jerusalem cult and blessing. Such piety becomes most discernible in the imagery and expressions in Psalm 66. The psalm’s two main sections may be described as praise, with verses 1–12 being praise by the group or the ‘we’, and verses 13–20 being praise by the individual or the ‘I’. Personal or individual piety and private piety are expressed by the desire of the ‘we’ and the ‘I’, and the experienced immediacy to God by transposing the past into the present through the memory of the exodus narrative, the Jerusalem cultic imagery and the use of body imagery. In this research article, an understanding of piety in Psalm 66 in terms of the memory of past events and body imagery is discussed from a perspective of space and appropriated for a time of (post-) pandemic where normal or traditional ecclesiological formal practices cannot take place.Contribution: This article makes an interdisciplinary contribution based on knowledge from the Psalms in the Old Testament, social anthropology, literary spatial theories and practical theological perspectives on the church in order to contribute to the relevance and practice of theology today, during a time of turmoil and a global pandemic.

John Paul II: Touching the Heart of Black Africa

Worldview ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 21-23
Author(s):  
James F. Conway
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Black Africa ◽  
The Church

Pope John Paul II explored the African continent this May with all the stamina, exuberance, and gusto of the nineteenth-century missionary-explorers Stanley and Livingston. He had to call on his talents as linguist, diplomat, humanist, and intellectual to deal with the complex problems he faced —and continues to face. For examples: How should Rome react to the continuing Africanization of the evangelization of the Church? What is the position of Christianity vis-à-vis the proliferation of Marxist/socialist experiments in Africa? Can Christianity coexist peacefully with Islam in a continent where the latter is growing at a rate of 3 1/2 million adherents per year?

Priests, Prophets, and Kings: The Mission of the Church According to John Paul II

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78
Author(s):  
Peter John McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
New Evangelization ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Lumen Gentium ◽  
The Church

Pope John Paul II understood the mission of the Church to be a participation in the priestly, prophetic, and royal mission of Christ. This essay follows the development of this understanding from his time as Archbishop of Cracow though to Evangelium vitae. It examines, in particular, evangelization and its relationship to the threefold mission. It traces its development through his integration of the teaching of Lumen gentium on the threefold office of Christians and the teaching on evangelization in Evangelii nuntiandi. Noting that the Lineamenta of the Synod on New Evangelization makes little reference to the threefold office, it, finally, offers some ideas as to how we might develop our understanding of the threefold mission and apply it to ‘new evangelization.’

scholarly journals A concepção de “ensino religioso” nos discursos do papa João Paulo II

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (287) ◽  
pp. 538
Author(s):  
Mateus Geraldo Xavier
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Clear Indication ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
Holy See ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church ◽  
Catholic Bishops

Num momento em que o Ensino Religioso Brasileiro vem construindo uma epistemologia própria, vários posicionamentos têm se manifestado por parte, sobretudo, de segmentos do episcopado católico com relação à construção de sua nova identidade. Tais manifestações têm suas raízes no próprio magistério da Igreja. Por isso, julgamos relevante uma volta aos ensinamentos do papa João Paulo II, pois foi ele quem mais insistiu em que os estados assegurassem, em nome da liberdade religiosa, o ensino religioso conforme a confissão de fé dos alunos e de seus familiares. O Acordo entre Brasil e Santa Sé é um claro indício desse esforço. Portanto, este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar descritivamente a visão do ensino religioso na perspectiva do papa João Paulo II.Abstract: At a time when Brazilian Religious Education is building itself an epistemology, several positions have been expressed in particular segments of the catholic bishops regarding the construction of their new identity. These manifestations have their roots in the teachings of the church itself. On that account, we deem relevant to return to the studies of Pope John Paul II, since he was the one who took a strong stand in favor of religious education according to the faith of the students and their families, on behalf of religious freedom. The agreement between Brazil and the Holy See is a clear indication of that effort. This article aims, therefore, to present a descriptive vision of religious education in the light of Pope John Paul II.

scholarly journals A mulher na Igreja hoje. A partir e além do Concílio Vaticano II

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (249) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Maria Clara Lucchetti Bingemer
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
The Church

Entre as inúmeras aberturas para o “novo” do Evangelho de Jesus Cristo no mundo de hoje que o Concílio Vaticano II trouxe está, sem dúvida, a abertura de um espaço mais visível para a mulher. O presente artigo procura demonstrar como os textos do Concílio já mencionam explicitamente esta novidade. A seguir, mostra a trajetória que a mulher fez nos tempos pós-conciliares. Alguns documentos do Papa Paulo VI e do Papa João Paulo II reconhecem e valorizam esse caminho. Concluindo, apresenta a situação da mulher no hoje da Igreja e da sociedade.Abstract: There is no doubt that the acceptance of a more visible place for women is one of the main ‘novelties’ of the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought to light by the Council Vatican II. The present article attempts to show how the Council’s texts already mentioned this novelty explicitly. Subsequently the paper gives an overview of women’s trajectory in the postCouncil period. Some documents written by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II obviously recognize and encourage this new stance. To conclude, the paper looks at the situation of women today, in the Church and in society as a whole.

scholarly journals The Consumer Ideology and the Truth about Man

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Adrian J. Reimers
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Truth ◽  
Moral Law ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
Moral Good ◽  
Moral Thought ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Philosophical Writings

The formation of the human conscience is a controverted question in both philosophical ethics and moral philosophy. Conscience refers to one’s conception and understanding of the moral good. An especially significant manifestation of the problem of conscience in the 20th and 21st centuries is the impact of ideology on the individual person’s moral sense. This article considers the impact of two 19th century philosophies―Mill’s utilitarianism and Marxism―on contemporary moral thought insofar as the interaction of these two produce a powerful materialist ideology to determine the modern European and American conscience. We then turn to the thought of Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła), who in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor and in his earlier philosophical writings developed an account of moral truth by which the dangers of materialistic ideology can be overcome. It is argued, with John Paul II, that only in the context of truth can a coherent account of freedom of conscience under the moral law be developed.

The Construction of Paul’s Self in His Writings: Narrative Identity, Social Memory and Metaphorical Truth

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-265
Author(s):  
Simon Butticaz
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Narrative Identity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Construction Of Self ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Narrative Mode ◽  
The Church

The article aims to investigate – in two autobiographical fragments of the Pauline writings (1 Cor. 15:8-10 and Gal. 1:13-24) – how the narrative mode enables the apostle to grasp the continuity and coherence of his identity, while integrating in the construction of his self disparate and discordant elements (like the Damascus event) which continually threaten the “narrative unity of a human life” (MacIntyre). Furthermore, since “collective memory” precedes and shapes the individual representation of the past (Halbwachs; Assmann), the article also examines how Paul integrates and negotiates in his construction of self-identity the “communal memories” shared by his social group, and in particular his past as persecutor of the Church. Finally, we shall describe the integration of these autobiographical fragments within their respective literary contexts and explore the “metaphorical truth” – or the “refiguration” of reality – which is produced by these different “configurations” of Pauline identity (Ricoeur).


Establishing Contractual Relationships: an Antropological Approach

2019 ◽  
pp. 2107-2117
Author(s):  
Tat’iana S. Volchetskaia ◽  
Tatyana K. Primak
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Basic Element ◽  
The State ◽  
Interesting Aspect ◽  
The Past ◽  
Contractual Relationships ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Individual

Scientific research of contractual relationships represents not only an interesting aspect of learning about the past of human civilization, but also a necessary component of the creation and improvement of new forms of state-public structures. This component implies consent as a basic element of the interaction system. But many questions remain insufficiently researched for the following reasons: the dominant view on the contract as subordinate in relation to the state and law; the lack of integrity of positions on the origin and composition of the elements that determine the contract’s nature. To get new ideas and perspectives of study it is necessary to reconsider traditional points of view on the emergence of norms, exchange, individualism, property, to use new approaches, especially anthropological one. Based on scientific research, the authors concluded that the agreement (contract) appeared simultaneously with the emergence of the human community; the agreement (contract) does not need to be recognized by the state, it can be considered as a natural regulator of social relations. The general and private levels were identified in the process of forming the contract, and there were indicated contracts’ features, components and the principle of interaction through the individual person

scholarly journals The Gamelan in the Catholic Liturgy in Yogyakarta

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Luca Pietrosanti
Keyword(s):  
Active Participation ◽  
Liturgical Music ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way ◽  
Catholic Liturgy

This paper is a brief overview of the use of the gamelan together with the polyphonic choir in the Roman rite of Holy Mass. Through the examination ofrepertoires, interviews and active participation in rehearsals and Masses, thiswork illustrates the types of compositions of liturgical music for gamelan aswell as the way these compositions are used. Particular attention is addressedto some key-concepts of traditional gamelan music, such as gending, benthuk,laras, pathet, garap. It will be apparent that these concepts are adapted, firstlyto integrate the gamelan with a vocal element, the choir (which is based on awestern tradition) and secondly, to meet the needs of the rite of Holy Mass.Although indirectly, this paper also represents a paradigm of “Inculturation”,which describes a process distinct from “Enculturation”. The term“Inculturation” must be intended as “the incarnation of the Gospel in nativecultures and also the introduction of these cultures into the life of the Church”,so defined by the Pope John Paul II in the encyclical Slavorum Apostoli, 2ndJune 1985, VI-21. Instead, with the term “Enculturation” we intend the processby which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture andassimilates its practices and values. Thus, the two words represent twodifferent processes of assimilation of culture.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document