Reform and Reaction in the Colombian Catholic Church

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Schoultz

In the autumn of 1509 the explorer Alonso de Ojeda landed on the northern coast of South America, near where is today the city of Cartagena, and claimed the region in the name of Spain. As some of the natives appeared inclined to question the acquisitive proclivities of the Crown, Ojeda had read to them the principal articles of the Christian faith, hoping to demonstrate the benign nature of his invasion. Apparently feeling that his obligation to the Church was not yet fulfilled, he then informed the local residents “ especially of the supreme jurisdiction of the pope ” and required that they embrace the Catholic religion. Ojeda barely escaped with his life.

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.


Author(s):  
David Hollenbach

This chapter argues that human dignity can be grounded in historical experiences of the violation and attainment of dignity, and through arguments based on practical (as opposed to theoretical) reason about how to advance respect for dignity and reduce its violation. It also presents theological warrants for human dignity based on Christian faith, and argues that reflection by practical reason on human experience interacts with these Christian religious beliefs in ways that have led the Catholic community to become an important advocate of human dignity in recent decades. Continued interaction of practical reason, human experience, and faith can enable the Catholic Church to work with other communities on behalf of human dignity in addressing new challenges today, perhaps leading the church to further historical development of its understanding of human dignity and rights in new technological and social contexts.


Author(s):  
Noel Malcolm

This essay presents a hitherto unknown work: the first autobiography ever written by an Albanian. It was composed in 1881–2 by a young man (born in 1861) called Lazër Tusha; he wrote it in Italian, and the manuscript has been preserved in an ecclesiastical archive in Italy. Tusha was the son of a prosperous tailor in the city of Shkodër, which was the administrative centre of the Catholic Church in Albania. He describes his childhood and early education, which gave him both a love of Italian culture and a strong desire to serve the Church; at his insistence, his father sent him to the Catholic seminary there, run by the Jesuits. He describes his disappointment on being obliged, after six years, to leave the seminary and resume lay life, and his failed attempts to become either a Jesuit or a Franciscan. Some aspects of these matters remain mysterious in his account. But much of this unfinished draft book is devoted to things other than purely personal narrative: Tusha writes in loving detail about customs, superstitions, clothes, the city of Shkodër, its market and the tailoring business. This is a very rich account of the life and world of an ordinary late-nineteenth-century Albanian—albeit an unusually thoughtful one, with some literary ambition.


1998 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-236
Author(s):  
Peter B. Nockles

‘It is an old theory of ours, that there are very few of the positions assumed by the antagonists of the Catholic church, which may not be turned against each other, with far more effect than they carry against the common adversary whom they all seek to assail. A skilful use of the weapons employed against each other by various sects of Protestantism, in their internecine warfare, would supply one of the most curious, and we will venture to say, one of the most solid and convincing arguments of the truth of the Catholic religion to be found in the whole range of polemical literature’.(Dublin Review, 1855).Anti-Catholicism, represented in the era of the eve of Emancipation by a rich genre of polemical literature focusing on the supposed ‘difficulties of Romanism’, has been the subject of much recent study; notably for the eighteenth century by Colin Haydon, and for the nineteenth, by Walter Amstein, Edward Norman, D. G. Paz, Walter Ralls, F. M. Wallis and John Wolffe. In contrast, English Catholic controversial writing against the Church of England, focusing on what one Catholic writer (in a conscious reversal of the stock Anglican polemical title) called the ‘difficulties of Protestantism’, with notable exceptions such as Sheridan Gilley, Leo Gooch and Brian Carter, 5 has been comparatively neglected for the half century prior to the dawn of the Oxford Movement in 1833.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Petrus Canisius Edi Laksito

Plantatio Ecclesiae is a particular term elaborated in missiology in the first half of the 20th century, and then used by the Vatican Council II in the decree on the mission activity of the Church Ad Gentes (1965) to designate the definition of mission and its goal, as well. From this perspective, it is believed that mission is not merely a question about converting souls and, therefore, bringing them to eternal salvation, but especially a “plantation of the Church” in the lands not yet touched by christian faith. Thus, mission is not only about individual salvation, but particularly about the formation of new christian communities comprised of indigenous people with their own hierarchical leaders, who live their own native values and culture contributing themselves for the local development and the good of their own society, enlightened by christian faith and strengthened by christian love. Being used to determine the ideal of a missionary parish in the Basic Orientation (Arah Dasar) of the Diocese of Surabaya 2020-2030, this term is important to be studied. This study tries to learn how the ideal of a missionary parish, seen from the perspective of plantatio Ecclesiae theology, could be realized by the Catholic Church of the Diocese of Surabaya in the years to come.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-281
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska ◽  
Marta Michalczuk-Wlizło

Abstract There is room for everyone in the Catholic Church, but there is no consent for same-sex marriage in that Church as marriage only between a baptized man and a woman is a sacrament. Same-sex marriage is inconsistent with the Holy Scripture where marriage is based on God’s natural law. This official Scripture’s interpretation results in lack of possibility to reconciliate the official teaching of the Church with the recognition of same-sex marriage. The world is moving forward and so are the opinions of Christians and their growing support for same-sex marriage. Such marriage is recognized in thirty states worldwide, including states with dominant Catholic religion. Regardless the official teaching, the Catholic Church’s position is not uniform. The paper discusses the official interpretation of the Scripture concerning homosexuals, analyses the position of the Catholic Church toward same-sex marriage and indicates differences in Christians’ attitudes with respect to same-sex couples in Western and Eastern Europe.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Dixon ◽  
Andrew Gibbs

Abstract Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) breeding on a city centre church in Exeter, in the south-west of England, have been studied in detail since first occupation in 1997. During this period, changes in both male and female falcons have been recorded. Following the arrival of a new female Peregrine in 2009, a dramatic change in behaviour towards Common Buzzards (Buteo buteo) on passage over the city was noted. Buzzards flying over Exeter are attacked by the falcons, especially so when in proximity to the church. We have attempted to document these attacks through our own observations, with additional information from local residents and wildlife organisations. Further records have come from veterinary surgeries and wildlife rehabilitators regarding injured buzzards found in the city. This paper documents the extreme levels of territorial aggression as demonstrated by the pair of Peregrines during cooperative attacks on Buzzards. We reveal this unique interspecific behaviour by summarising the number, frequency, timing and outcome of attacks undertaken over an eight-year period. We describe and illustrate the strategy employed by the Peregrines during a typical attack, plus consider implications on breeding productivity and the future scenarios should one of the current pair be replaced.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 525-534
Author(s):  
Marta Ziółkowska

The pontificate of Leo the Great (440-461) was one of the longest in the histo­ry of the Church. Since his days as Pope were difficult and complicated, Leo’s part in the civil and political events of the Roman Empire was significant. That time was also characterized by continuous christological debates and controversies in which Leo’s voice as that of the head of the Catholic Church was decisive. He considered it his fundamental duty to strengthen Christian faith through formation and spiritual direction of the faithful. It also involved the formation of Christian character. His Sermons clearly testify to St. Leo’s fundamental role as a spiritual guide who strives for the salvation of the souls of those who are called to perceive their earthly lives in the proper manner. This paper offers a detailed analysis of Sermons delivered on various occa­sions, including Advent, Lent or Ember days which were for Pope Leo an occa­sion for a systematic exercise of his responsibilities. The first part of the paper deals with Leo’s conception of the basis and goals of spiritual formation in the 5th c. The second part sets forth the main elements of the formation programme. Consequently, the ancient concept of Christian formation has been presented here with its practical adaptations as implemented in daily striving for holiness.


Author(s):  
D.B. Vershinina

The paper attempts to identify the features of the relationship of the Catholic religion and the church as an institution with the process of forming and modernizing the Irish national identity. The historical aspects of the interaction of the church and the national movement are compared with modern data on the place of the Roman Catholic Church in the structure of the Irish national identity, the position of the church in relation to moral issues is revealed, and the conclusion is made on the factors and specifics of the secularization process in Ireland in the second half of the 20 and early 21 centuries. The author uses legislative sources, press materials, texts of speeches of state and public figures.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellton Luis Sbardella ◽  
Clélia Peretti

O presente artigo apresenta reflexões bíblicas e do magistério da Igrejasobre o tema da misericórdia. A misericórdia é o fundamento para os desafios que a fé cristã enfrenta diante das diferentes manifestações de violência na nossa sociedade. O tema da misericórdia está presente na Sagrada Escritura e no Catecismo da Igreja Católica (CIC), o qual nos mostra a concretização da ação misericordiosa de Deus em Jesus para todo ser humano. A Bula Misericordiae Vultus, do Papa Francisco, na  proclamação do Jubileu Extraordinárioda Misericórdia, apresenta com clareza o rosto da misericórdia de Deus, sua presença e ações manifestas no caminhar e na história do povo. O desafio do cristão hoje é uma prática evangélica da misericórdia, que ofereça respostas de libertação àquilo que fere a dignidade do homem e da mulher.Palavras-chave: Misericordiae Vultus. Deus é misericórdia. Violência e misericórdia.Abstract: The present article presents biblical reflections and the magisterium of the Church on the subject of mercy. Mercy is the foundation for the challenges that the Christian faith faces in the face of the different manifestations of violence in our society. The theme of mercy is present in Sacred Scripture and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) which shows us the concreteness of the merciful action of God in Jesus for every human being. The Bull Misericordiae Vultus of Pope Francis in the proclamation of the extraordinary jubilee of mercy clearly presents the face of the mercy of God, his presence and actions manifested in the way of the people and in his history. The challenge of the Christian today is an evangelical practice of mercy offering answers of deliverance to that which hurts the dignity of man and woman.Keywords: Misericordiae Vultus. God is mercy. Violence and mercy.


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