Universale Salutis Sacramentum: Understanding the Church as the Universal Sacrament of Salvation in Relation to the Challenges of Interreligious Dialogue

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-99
Author(s):  
John Friday

Based on the premise that the task of systematic theology is to promote an understanding of doctrines by relating different doctrines to one another, and in dialogue with the religious-cultural context, this article provides a systematic proposal for understanding the Roman Catholic doctrine that affirms the church as the universal sacrament of salvation. This doctrine will be clarified by relating it to the doctrine that interreligious dialogue is part of the Catholic Church's evangelising mission. The context for this understanding is one in which religious diversity is both a fact and often times, a problem. The reflections begin with a survey of several terms and relations that are central to the doctrines that are being discussed. Bernard Lonergan's notion of mutual self-mediation is then explained and presented as a tool for both Christian and ecclesial self-understanding. Mark Heim's so-called “theology of religious ends” is appealed to as a concrete way for mutual self-mediation to be practised, and Lonergan's ecclesiologial suggestions allow the notion to be applied on an ecclesial level.

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-212
Author(s):  
Margaret Schabas

AbstractDavid Hume wrote prolifically and influentially on economics and was an enthusiast for the modern commercial era of manufacturing and global trade. As a vocal critic of the Church, and possibly a nonbeliever, Hume positioned commerce at the vanguard of secularism. I here argue that Hume broached ideas that gesture toward those offered by Max Weber in his famous Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-5). Hume discerned a strong correlation between economic flourishing and Protestantism, and he pointed to a “spirit of the age” that was built on modern commerce and fueled by religious tolerance. The Roman Catholic Church, by contrast, came under considerable attack by Hume, for fostering intolerance and draining and diverting funds. Hume recognized several of the dispositions that later appealed to Weber: an increased work ethic and tendency to frugality, enterprise, and investment in Protestant regions. A neo-Weberian literature now points to additional factors, the spread of literacy and the fostering of a network of trust among strangers, both of which Hume noted. Insofar as modern commerce both feeds upon and fosters more liberties and representative government, Hume also linked these with the advent and spread of Protestantism. My aim is not to suggest that these arguments have merit—there is good reason to question each and every assertion under the historical microscope—but rather to highlight the broader religious and cultural context in which Hume’s economics was broached.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ngagne Tine

Interreligious dialogue is a decisive aspect in the dynamic of "aggiornamento", which the Catholic Church has initiated since the Second Vatican Council. In order to walk this path of renewal, the Church of Senegal must promote a dialogue of multiform dimensions: doctrinal, cognitive, pragmatic, ethical and spiritual. The concept of dialogue, developed through this book, is a form of contribution to this theological and pastoral task. It calls on the Church in Senegal to draw on the African genius to practice a dialogue rooted in the existence of the Senegalese people. Through this approach, it is possible to break down ethnic and religious barriers in order to open up a new horizon of brotherhood and human development. The Author Richard Ngagne Tine, born in 1975 in Senegal, is a priest of the Diocese of Thiès. He obtained his doctorate in systematic theology in 2021 from the Catholic theological faculty of the University of Münster, Germany. He specialised in anthropology, ecclesiology and the theological foundations of interreligious dialogue in Senegal.


Author(s):  
Magdalena Nordin

Abstract This article starts by giving an overview on religion in contemporary Sweden and a historic background on IRD-organisations and IRD-activities in the country; followed by a more in-depth description of contemporary IRD, presenting both national and local IRD-organisations and IRD-activities. The article ends with an analysis of how IRD-organisations and IRD-activities relate to the sociocultural context in Sweden, which shows the importance of the increase in religious plurality in Sweden and the Church of Sweden’s still dominate position, in the establishment and upholding of IRD-organisations and IRD-activities in the country. Another sociocultural context influencing is the highly secularised Swedish society together with the secular state. This leads both to a delay in establishment of IRD-organizations in Sweden, and later on, for the establishment of these IRD-organizations and for IRD-activities, if the aim of these are less religious and foremost social.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
John J. Markey, OP

One of the most significant consequences of Vatican II has been the worldwide effort at inculturation and contextualization of the Christian tradition, particularly at the level of foundational theology and method.This process implies drawing on the unique patterns of thought, social structures, cultural narratives, and rituals to develop new theological and pastoral sensibilities.This process, termed “prophetic dialogue” by Steve Bevans and Roger Schroeder,[1] seems to be dramatically underway practically everywhere in the Roman Catholic world except, most notably, in the United States.While Hispanics/Latin@s, African Americans, Asian Americans, feminists, etc., have continuously served with an awareness of the need for contextualization, Euro-American academic and ecclesial theology has largely failed to analyze, articulate, and critique its own US cultural context and to engage it in a serious evangelical and theological dialogue. In this article, I propose to offer what I believe are four significant insights about to the task of inculturation/contextualization as it relates particularly to Euro-American theology in the church and academy in the coming decade.[1] Stephen B. Bevans And Roger P. Schroeder, Constant in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004, 385-95.See also Bevans and Schroeder, Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011.


Horizons ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Brian P. Flanagan

This article argues that the predominance of communion language in ecclesiology in the past fifty years frequently functions as another instance of the universalization of a theological position rooted in a particular, dominant context—the fragmented, post-traditional world of the late twentieth-century West. First, it briefly discusses the concept of a contextual theology. It then traces three of the major contexts in which communion ecclesiology developed: the ecumenical movement and its desire for a new language of Christian unity, the Roman Catholic community's desire for language pointing to the spiritual/theological reality of the Christian church, and the broader cultural context of fragmentation and real or perceived disintegration of community found in late-modern Western societies. Finally, the article looks at some examples of ecclesiological reflection occurring outside of the dominant consensus of communion ecclesiology: the work of José Comblin in Latin America, and that of Elochukwu Uzukwu and other theologians of the church in African contexts.


1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (20) ◽  
pp. 659-663 ◽  

In his obituary to the late Chancellor Garth Moore, Chancellor Quentin Edwards QC recalled one of Garth's constant sayings: ‘It may be possible to be a theologian without being a canonist; but it is impossible to be a canonist without being a theologian’. The recent Lyndwood Lecture marking, as it did, the first joint venture between this Society and the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, brought into sharp focus some of the differences between Anglican and Roman Catholic canonists. The laws of the latter reveal a more visible and systematic theology whereas those of the Church of England are unashamedly positivist both in form and ostensible origin. This paper seeks to consider the role of the Gospel in the contemporary governance of the Church of England and to isolate—but not resolve— certain of the ‘practical parish problems’ which will fall to be addressed at the forthcoming residential conference.


Moreana ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (Number 157- (1-2) ◽  
pp. 58-71
Author(s):  
John McConica

During the period in which these papers were given, there were great achievements on the ecumenical scene, as the quest to restore the Church’s unity was pursued enthusiastically by all the major Christiandenominations. The Papal visit of John Paul II to England in 1982 witnessed a warmth in relationships between the Church of England and the Catholic Church that had not been experienced since the early 16th century Reformation in England to which More fell victim. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission was achieving considerable doctrinal consensus and revisionist scholarship was encouraging an historical review by which the faithful Catholic and the confessing Protestant could look upon each other respectfully and appreciatively. It is to this ecumenical theme that James McConica turns in his contribution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-280
Author(s):  
Rhoderick John Suarez Abellanosa

The declaration of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in various provinces and cities in the Philippines did not impede the Catholic Church from celebrating its sacraments and popular devotions. Mired with poverty and various forms of economic and social limitations, the presence of God for Filipinos is an essential element in moving forward and surviving in a time of pandemic. Predominantly Roman Catholic in religious affiliation, seeking the face of God has been part of Filipinos' lives whenever a serious disaster would strike. This essay presents how the clergy, religious and lay communities in the Philippines have innovatively and creatively sustained treasured religious celebrations as a sign of communion and an expression of faith. In addition to online Eucharistic celebrations that are more of a privilege for some, culturally contextualised efforts were made during the Lenten Season and even on Sundays after Easter. This endeavour ends with a reflection on the Church as the sacrament of God in a time of pandemic. Pushed back to their homes, deprived of life's basic necessities and facing threats of social instability, unemployment and hunger, Filipinos through their innovative celebrations find in their communion with their Church the very presence of God acting significantly in their lives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 327-334
Author(s):  
Inga V. Zheltikova ◽  
Elena I. Khokhlova

The article considers the dependence of the images of future on the socio-cultural context of their formation. Comparison of the images of the future found in A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s works of various years reveals his generally pessimistic attitude to the future in the situation of social stability and moderate optimism in times of society destabilization. At the same time, the author's images of the future both in the seventies and the nineties of the last century demonstrate the mismatch of social expectations and reality that was generally typical for the images of the future. According to the authors of the present article, Solzhenitsyn’s ideas that the revival of spirituality could serve as the basis for the development of economy, that the influence of the Church on the process of socio-economic development would grow, and that the political situation strongly depends on the personal qualities of the leader, are unjustified. Nevertheless, such ideas are still present in many images of the future of Russia, including contemporary ones.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 405-424
Author(s):  
Alina Nowicka -Jeżowa

Summary The article tries to outline the position of Piotr Skarga in the Jesuit debates about the legacy of humanist Renaissance. The author argues that Skarga was fully committed to the adaptation of humanist and even medieval ideas into the revitalized post-Tridentine Catholicism. Skarga’s aim was to reformulate the humanist worldview, its idea of man, system of values and political views so that they would fit the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church. In effect, though, it meant supplanting the pluralist and open humanist culture by a construct as solidly Catholic as possible. He sifted through, verified, and re-interpreted the humanist material: as a result the humanist myth of the City of the Sun was eclipsed by reminders of the transience of all earthly goods and pursuits; elements of the Greek and Roman tradition were reconnected with the authoritative Biblical account of world history; and man was reinscribed into the theocentric perspective. Skarga brought back the dogmas of the original sin and sanctifying grace, reiterated the importance of asceticism and self-discipline, redefined the ideas of human dignity and freedom, and, in consequence, came up with a clear-cut, integrist view of the meaning and goal of the good life as well as the proper mission of the citizen and the nation. The polemical edge of Piotr Skarga’s cultural project was aimed both at Protestantism and the Erasmian tendency within the Catholic church. While strongly coloured by the Ignatian spirituality with its insistence on rigorous discipline, a sense of responsibility for the lives of other people and the culture of the community, and a commitment to the heroic ideal of a miles Christi, taking headon the challenges of the flesh, the world, Satan, and the enemies of the patria and the Church, it also went a long way to adapt the Jesuit model to Poland’s socio-cultural conditions and the mentality of its inhabitants.


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