scholarly journals The Vatican Opinion on Gender Theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 002436392093311
Author(s):  
Julio Tudela ◽  
Enrique Burguete ◽  
Justo Aznar

This article is a reasoned response to the article by Timothy F. Murphy, recently published in the prestigious journal Bioethics, on the supposed opposition between the views of the Catholic Church and what he calls “contemporary science” in relation to certain anthropological issues linked to the gender perspective. To point to “the Vatican” as anchored in an unscientific and anachronistic position, using the term contemporary science to which he attributes a unanimous representation of current scientific thinking on the subject is, in our view, unfounded and completely unacceptable. In his reflection, he does not adequately distinguish between intersex and transgenderism, two clearly different realities with different needs. The author defends the obsolescence of the binary sex/gender model that, in his view, “betrays human sexuality.” Furthermore, he does so without providing a plausible justification or a definition of human nature that is able to support the plurality and indeterminacy of sexual conditions, without falling back on untenable dualisms or relativism devoid of scientific objectivity. In our response, we highlight how the dialogue between Faith and Reason, as developed in the recent Magisterium of the Catholic Church, is essential to explain nature, the human being and, in general, all creations. Finally, contemporary science does not provide a monolithic and unquestionable view of the nature of human beings and their sexual identity, as the author claims, with many scientists confirming evidence of a binary human sexuality genetically and phenotypically determined. Summary This paper is a reasoned response to the supposed opposition between the views of the Catholic Church and “contemporary science” in relation to certain anthropological issues linked to the gender perspective.The dialogue between Faith and Reason, as developed in the recent Magisterium of the Catholic Church, is essential to explain nature, the human being and, in general, all creation, against the opinion of those who defend the obsolescence of the binary sex/gender model that, in their view, “betrays human sexuality”.

Author(s):  
Michael Potts ◽  

This paper considers the possibility of a disembodied conscious soul, arguing that a great deal of current research converges in a direction that denies the possibility of a bodiless consciousness for human beings. Contemporary attacks on Cartesianism also serve as attacks on the view of some hylomorphist Catholics, such as Thomas Aquinas, that there can be a disembodied consciousness between death and resurrection, a view that violates the Catechism of the Catholic Church. However, there may be a way out for the Catholic hylomorphist which was suggested by Dante—the possibility of a temporary body. The first section of the paper will summarize the contemporary attack against both the Cartesian soul and physicalist systems that reduce the mind to the brain. The alternative position proposed is that the human being is a psychosomatic unity at the level of the organism as a whole, and that both mind-body and brain-body dualism should be avoided. Such a position, I will argue, supports the notion that a disembodied soul, including a disembodied consciousness, is not possible for human beings. Finally, I will discuss Dante’s views on temporary bodies and explore three ways of understanding a temporary body, any of which can preserve a conscious intermediate state between death and resurrection.


Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Aranda Vargas

La pregunta sobre la distinción entre el reino animal y la especie humana es tan antigua como la razón misma. Dos extremos pueden ser identificados: la idea del ser humano como dictador de la naturaleza, que gobierna la vida y la muerte de las especies según su utilidad al proyecto humano; y la conceptualización del ser humano como administrador de la naturaleza, como responsable de su desarrollo armónico. El Concilio Vaticano II marcó un viraje hacia la segunda alternativa. En este contexto, la tauromaquia —como ejemplo paradigmático— puede ser cuestionada desde el catolicismo posconciliar y, más específicamente, desde la ecología integral de Francisco. The inquiry about the distinction between human beings and animals is as old as hu- man reason. We can identify two extreme positions: the conceptualization of the human kind as a dictator over nature who rules the species’ life and death according to its utility to the human project, and the view of the human being as nature’s administrator, as the one in charge of its harmonic development. The Second Vatican Council oriented the Catholic Church towards the second alternative. In this context, bullfights –a paradigmatic example– can be questioned by post-conciliar Catholicism and, more speci cally, from Francis’ integral ecology. 


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Tushar Kadian

Actually, basic needs postulates securing of the elementary conditions of existence to every human being. Despite of the practical and theoretical importance of the subject the greatest irony is non- availability of any universal preliminary definition of the concept of basic needs. Moreover, this becomes the reason for unpredictability of various political programmes aiming at providing basic needs to the people. The shift is necessary for development of this or any other conception. No labour reforms could be made in history till labours were treated as objects. Its only after they were started being treating as subjects, labour unions were allowed to represent themselves in strategy formulations that labour reforms could become a reality. The present research paper highlights the basic needs of Human Rights in life.


Author(s):  
Karolina Dłuska

The author of the article tries to indicate the relationship between the perceived presence of the Catholic Church in public life and the election preferences of Poles. The subject of the research here is the parliamentary elections in Poland in 2011 in the context of the perception by the electorate of the individual parties of the public presence of the Catholic Church in the selected aspects. Among them, the author points to: the issue of crosses and other religious symbols in public space, including the issue of a cross in the Sejm meeting room. She also recalls such matters as: religion lessons in schools, the religious nature of the military oath, priests appearing on public television, the Church taking a stand on laws passed by the Sejm and priests telling people how to vote in elections. The presented analysis is based on the results of the Polish General Election Study 2011.


2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renate Dürr

“All, therefore, who consider themselves Christians may be absolutely certain that we are all equally priests.”1 With this declaration Martin Luther categorically repudiated the Catholic understanding of priesthood as a holy estate with indelible marks bestowed at consecration. According to the reformers all Christians, in principle, have the same authority in word and sacrament, but only those authorized by the respective community of believers may wield it. This assessment not only reflected certain irregularities within the clergy but also signified a completely new definition of the priesthood. It cannot be understood outside the context of existing contemporary criticism—not only from reformatory circles—of the state of numerous parishes who suffered under poorly educated, morally unacceptable (from a contemporary point of view) or indeed absent clergymen. The Catholic Church's answer to this challenge, therefore, had two aims: plans for far-reaching reforms were intended to renew the image of priests and, primarily, to provide effective pastoral care. Polemical theological debates against Protestants and discussions within the Catholic Church were intended not only to strengthen the certainty of the fundamental essence of priestly identity but also to facilitate a differentiation of Catholic from Protestant understanding. The decisions of the Council of Trent also touched both areas. At the 23rd session both the theological basis of the sacrament of consecration and the plans to reform the rules concerning the bishops' obligatory residence in their parishes were debated.2


Author(s):  
Hussein Ali Abdulsater

This chapter investigates the position of human beings in this theological system. Its point of departure is a definition of the human being, from which it develops an understanding of human agency in relation to God and the world. Divine assistance (luṭf) is highlighted as the bridge between human autonomy and divine sovereignty. Following is an elaborate description of religious experience: its origins, justification, relevant parties, responsibilities and characteristics. The concept of moral obligation (taklīf) is shown to be the cornerstone of Murtaḍā’s theory on religion. The chapter is divided into three sub-headings: The Human Being; Justification of Moral Obligation; Characteristics of Moral Obligation.


Author(s):  
Mbosowo Bassey Udok

Human existence as a whole is attached to a culture. Every human is a member of a group that acts within the framework of patterns of behavior that is unique or peculiar to the group. Each group determines the component of her culture, and culture builds an identity for the group. This chapter is poised to examine definitions of culture across cultural backgrounds to show similarities and differences in articulating the subject matter. It explicates the components of culture which include the product and technical knowledge of human beings in a given environment. The work plunges into the characteristics of culture as socially based. Here, culture is seen as a creation of society and shared among members of the same society and learned through associations with others in the group. The work concludes that though there is no universally acceptable definition of culture, the impact of culture cannot be undermined as its influence is felt across disciplines and communities.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 607
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Ignatowski ◽  
Łukasz Sułkowski ◽  
Robert Seliga

Building the brand of the Catholic Church is an area that is little explored in the literature on the subject. This issue turns out to be a very controversial area due to the nature of the activities and the sphere in which these activities are to be performed (marketing, ethics, religion, and faith). The article presents the results of qualitative research conducted among clergymen in Poland and is additionally based on the analysis of the literature on the subject. The theoretical considerations and research results presented in the article help to develop an understanding of the activities of the Catholic Church in Poland, aimed at strengthening the value of its brand. It should be noted that the generational change taking place in Poland forces the clergy to change their narrative and way of conducting dialogue. The previous generations, based on the faith and ethos of John Paul II, also expect modern forms of communication more and more often, which leads to building the brand value of the Catholic Church in Poland. The article discusses the specificity of the interdependence of the Church and marketing, identifies the issues of building the brand of the Catholic Church and the use of modern marketing tools in this process, and presents the results of its own research, which leads to the drawing of final conclusions verifying the research questions posed in the research methodology. This article may initiate an extended discussion on the controversial topic of the implementation of commercial marketing tools into management processes in the Catholic Church.


2001 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-526
Author(s):  
Waldemar Kowalski

Religious conversion is undoubtedly one of the most-explored aspects of medieval and early modern social history. Thefact that the literature concerning that problem is still significantly on the increase proves its scholarly importance. The subject has found a permanent place among works dealing with denominational relations in pre-partition Poland, and the list of such works is substantial. Theyshow a significant number of dispersed pieces of information con-cerning reconversions to the Catholic Church, with no lack of more general observations on this matter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document