The Natural Law in Catholic Ethics

2015 ◽  
pp. 387-402
Author(s):  
Kevin L. Flannery
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
Classical Traditions ◽  
John Finnis

This chapter presents Catholic teaching on the natural law as the product of a conversation over millennia. After offering some basic conceptual distinctions, the chapter begins by considering ancient non-Christian sources for Christian reflection on the natural law, especially Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. The chapter then considers relevant biblical texts and the teachings of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Attention is particularly played to Thomas’s adaptation of Classical traditions, and his argument concerning the unchangeablness of natural law. The final section of the chapter focuses on discussion of natural law after the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) in the work of Germain Grisez and John Finnis.

Germain Grisez and the “New Natural Law”

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark S. Massa
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
John Finnis

This chapter is an extended examination of a revisionist approach to natural law, explored by Germain Grisez and John Finnis. Grisez and Finnis elucidated an entirely new paradigm that they believed to be both sounder intellectually than the paradigms of the neo-scholastics and revisionists and much closer in outline to the paradigm offered by St. Thomas Aquinas. This approach is usually labeled the “new natural law.” The author proposes that the entire “new natural law” project undertaken by Grisez and Finnis could be viewed as being about saving natural law by reestablishing it on distinctly different foundations that avoided any appeal to metaphysical claims, which modern science had long rejected as outdated and unscientific.

The Synod of Pistoia and Vatican II

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
High Water ◽  
Church Reform ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Bible Reading ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Continuity And Discontinuity

This book sheds further light on the nature of church reform and the roots of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) through a study of eighteenth-century Catholic reformers who anticipated the Council. The most striking of these examples is the Synod of Pistoia (1786), the high-water mark of late Jansenism. Most of the reforms of the Synod were harshly condemned by Pope Pius VI in the bull Auctorem fidei (1794), and late Jansenism was totally discredited in the ultramontane nineteenth-century Church. Nevertheless, much of the Pistoian agenda—such as an exaltation of the role of bishops, an emphasis on infallibility as a gift to the entire Church, religious liberty, a simpler and more comprehensible liturgy that incorporates the vernacular, and the encouragement of lay Bible reading and Christocentric devotions—was officially promulgated at Vatican II. The career of Bishop Scipione de’ Ricci (1741–1810) and the famous Synod he convened are investigated in detail. The international reception (and rejection) of the Synod sheds light on why these reforms failed, and the criteria of Yves Congar are used to judge the Pistoian Synod as “true or false reform.” This book proves that the Synod was a “ghost” present at Vatican II. The council fathers struggled with, and ultimately enacted, many of the same ideas. This study complexifies the story of the roots of the Council and Pope Benedict XVI’s “hermeneutic of reform,” which seeks to interpret Vatican II as in “continuity and discontinuity on different levels” with past teaching and practice.

scholarly journals ‘Scrupulous and Timid Conformism’: Ireland and the Reception of the Liturgical Changes of Vatican II

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 545
Author(s):  
Gary Carville
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Short Time Span ◽  
Irish Catholics ◽  
Catholic Tradition ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Church

The Second Vatican Council and, in particular, its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, changed much in the daily life of the Church. In Ireland, a country steeped in the Catholic tradition but largely peripheral to the theological debates that shaped Vatican II, the changes to liturgy and devotional practice were implemented dutifully over a relatively short time span and without significant upset. But did the hierarchical manner of their reception, like that of the Council itself, mean that Irish Catholics did not receive the changes in a way that deepened their spirituality? And was the popular religious memory of the people lost through a neglect of liturgical piety and its place in the interior life, alongside what the Council sought to achieve? In this essay, Dr Gary Carville will examine the background to the liturgical changes at Vatican II, the contribution to their formulation and implementation by leaders of the Church in Ireland, the experiences of Irish Catholic communities in the reception process, and the ongoing need for a liturgical formation that brings theology, memory, and practice into greater dialogue.

scholarly journals The Tenacity of Popular Devotions in the Age of Vatican II: Learning from the Divine Mercy

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Robert E. Alvis
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Pope John Paul Ii ◽  
World War ◽  
Therapeutic Tool ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The World ◽  
Divine Mercy

Despite is global popularity in recent decades, the Divine Mercy devotion has received scant scrutiny from scholars. This article examines its historical development and evolving appeal, with an eye toward how this nuances our understanding of Catholic devotions in the “age of Vatican II.” The Divine Mercy first gained popularity during World War II and the early Cold War, an anxious era in which many Catholic devotions flourished. The Holy Office prohibited the active promotion of the Divine Mercy devotion in 1958, owing to a number of theological concerns. While often linked with the decline of Catholic devotional life generally, the Second Vatican Council helped set the stage for the eventual rehabilitation of the Divine Mercy devotion. The 1958 prohibition was finally lifted in 1978, and the Divine Mercy devotion has since gained a massive following around the world, benefiting in particular from the enthusiastic endorsement of Pope John Paul II. The testimonies of devotees reveal how the devotion’s appeal has changed over time. Originally understood as a method for escaping the torments of hell or purgatory, the devotion developed into a miraculous means to preserve life and, more recently, a therapeutic tool for various forms of malaise.

Freedom in Religion, Freedom in the State

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Mirjam Künkler
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
The State ◽  
Intellectual Biography ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Role Of Religion

This article provides an overview of Böckenförde’s writings on issues of religion, ethos, and the Catholic Church in relation to law, democracy, and the state. It presents Böckenförde as an inner-Catholic critic, who attempted to persuade Catholicism that one’s own freedom can be defended only as part of the general freedom. This was finally achieved, at least dogmatically according to Böckenförde, with the Declaration of Religious Freedom at the end of the Second Vatican Council. The article lays out how Böckenförde sees the role of religion and natural law in secular democracy, namely as one informing the citizens’ ethos. Democracy cannot survive in the long term unless it is carried out by people who consider themselves part of the same demos and work towards a shared democratic culture. The article includes information on his intellectual biography, a periodization of his academic writings in seven phases from 1957 to 2012, a discussion of some of his core arguments as an inner-Catholic critic, a reflection on the cover images he chose for the two volumes, and closes with concluding remarks on Böckenförde’s view of religion in democracy compared to other theorists of democracy and secularism.

Understanding and Responding to Non-Affiliation

2021 ◽  
pp. 320-340
Author(s):  
James L. Heft
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
The Other ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Axial Age ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Impact

This chapter returns to the contents of the other chapters of the book and draws some tentative conclusions. At the outset, it presents some of the assumptions of the author as he approaches this topic, reviews briefly the literature on the now-outdated classic secularization thesis, and examines several historical factors that contribute to increasing non-affiliation for Catholics, including the impact and evaluations of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and the possibility that we are entering a second axial age. After describing several current ways in which church people are reaching out to the non-affiliated, the chapter concludes on a hopeful note.

scholarly journals Roman Catholic Ecclesiology from the Council of Trent to Vatican II and Beyond

2018 ◽  
pp. 262-292
Author(s):  
Ormond Rush
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Council Of Trent ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Church

For 400 years after the Council of Trent, a juridical model of the church dominated Roman Catholicism. Shifts towards a broader ecclesiology began to emerge in the nineteenth century. Despite the attempts to repress any deviations from the official theology after the crisis of Roman Catholic Modernism in the early twentieth century, various renewal movements, known as ressourcement, in the decades between the world wars brought forth a period of rich ecclesiological research, with emphasis given to notions such as the Mystical Body, the People of God, the church as mystery, as sacrament, and as communio. The Second Vatican Council incorporated many of these developments into its vision for renewal and reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Over half a century after Vatican II, a new phase in its reception is emerging with the pontificate of Pope Francis.

What Makes the Liturgy Biblical?—Texts

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-133
Author(s):  
Louis-Marie Chauvet
Keyword(s):  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Biblical Texts

The importance of Holy Scripture in the celebration of the Liturgy is very great. From it come the passages that are read and expounded in the homily, and the psalms that are sung. Inspired and suggested by it, prayers, collects, and liturgical hymns pour forth. From it liturgical actions and signs receive their meaning. 1 1 Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium 24.

John Paul II's Use of Scripture in His Moral Teaching

Horizons ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
Charles E. Curran
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
Fiftieth Anniversary ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Scientific Presentation ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The World

The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the College Theology Society naturally turns our focus to what has transpired in these fifty years. In terms of Roman Catholic theology, the two most significant historical realities are the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the now twenty-five-year pontificate of John Paul II as Bishop of Rome.In my discipline of moral theology, Vatican II and its document on the training of priests called for the renewal of moral theology with a special emphasis on its Scriptural bases. “Special care is to be taken for the improvement of moral theology. Its scientific presentation, drawing more fully on the teaching of holy Scripture should highlight the lofty vocation of the Christian faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit and charity for the life of the world.”John Paul II as pope has written and taught extensively in the area of morality. In the light of the Vatican II mandate to renew moral theology through a greater appreciation of its scriptural roots and bases, this essay will critically evaluate John Paul II's use of scripture in his teaching on morality.

Ecumenism, Mariology, and the Papacy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Mutual Respect ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Papal Infallibility ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Written Traditions ◽  
The Church

This chapter begins with an assessment of Newman as one of the most important influences behind the Second Vatican Council, before moving on to discuss his contributions to ecumenism, or ‘reunion’ as it was usually called, in his own time. After showing how he remained opposed to what he regarded as the system of ‘papalism’ in his Anglican years, even as late as 1841, the chapter moves on to analyse his contribution to the debates of the 1860s that had been sparked by Edward Bouverie Pusey’s response to Henry Manning’s attacks on the Anglican Church of his baptism. Newman in turn responded to Pusey’s Eirenicon which led to a lengthy correspondence and two further volumes from Pusey. The subject-matter, which focused on the doctrines of Mary as well as papal infallibility, revealed important differences between the two former Tractarians. Where Pusey regarded the teachings of the Church as settled and fixed in the written traditions grounded in the early Church, Newman held that Christian life and practice were equally important and were open to change and development. Although the declaration of infallibility scuppered ecumenism for many decades, the debates between Pusey and Newman reveal an openness and sympathy for one another’s opinion that paved the way for a future after Vatican II in which mutual respect would flourish.

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