What Difference Do Women Make? Retelling the Story of Catholic Responses to Secularism

Author(s):  
Brenna Moore

The boundaries drawn by secularism have limited religion to the “private” realm, not merely the arena of conscience and belief but also family structure, intimacy, and (women’s) sexuality. The Catholic Church, particularly through the intellectual and administrative influence of John Paul II, has advanced its counter-cultural stance on these issues based on the realist personalist philosophy of Jacques Maritain. However, if we introduce women as thinkers and protagonists into the story of the Catholic responses to secularism in Europe, how does it change? Not only women, but what happens if we pay attention to how gender and sexuality are threaded into the narrative? What differences emerge? Looking to the life and works of Raïssa Maritain, especially her celibate marriage and adoptive kinship network, we see a personalist and deeply Christian understanding of intimacy that consciously distances itself from heterosexual, procreative complementarity.

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doyen Nguyen

The introduction of the “brain death” criterion constitutes a significant paradigm shift in the determination of death. The perception of the public at large is that the Catholic Church has formally endorsed this neurological standard. However, a critical reading of the only magisterial document on this subject, Pope John Paul II's 2000 address, shows that the pope's acceptance of the neurological criterion is conditional in that it entails a twofold requirement. It requires that certain medical presuppositions of the neurological standard are fulfilled, and that its philosophical premise coheres with the Church's teaching on the body-soul union. This article demonstrates that the medical presuppositions are not fulfilled, and that the doctrine of the brain as the central somatic integrator of the body does not cohere either with the current holistic understanding of the human organism or with the Church's Thomistic doctrine of the soul as the form of the body. Summary The concept of “brain death” (the neurological basis for legally declaring a person dead) has caused much controversy since its inception. In this regard, it has been generally perceived that the Catholic Church has officially affirmed the “brain death” criterion. The address of Pope John Paul II in 2000 shows, however, that he only gave it a conditional acceptance, one which requires that several medical and philosophical presuppositions of the “brain death” standard be fulfilled. This article demonstrates, taking into consideration both the empirical evidence and the Church's Thomistic anthropology, that the presuppositions have not been fulfilled.


2003 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Fredericks

[Catholic thinking about other religious traditions has continued to develop rapidly since the Second Vatican Council. The author discusses the impact of conciliar texts, the thought of John Paul II, the “pluralist” and “regnocentric” theologies of religion, and the practice of interreligious dialogue on Catholic views of other religious paths. The multiple issues selected for discussion reflect the controversy surrounding the declaration Dominus Iesus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.]


Author(s):  
Ivan Danyliuk

In the article are considered the role of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in the de-isolation of Cuba in the international community and the promotion of the restoration of relations with the world community. The article analyzes the change in the international situation that has forced the Cuban government to dialogue with the Catholic Church, as well as the strengthening of the position of the Catholic Church on the Cuban island. The resumption of relations between Cuba and the Holy See was mutually beneficial and necessary for both sides. The Cuban government needed a new ally to get out of isolation. For the Vatican it was necessary to legalize the activities of the Catholic Church on the Cuban island. It is noted that three popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis played a part in the withdrawal from international isolation. The visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba attracted attention to Cuba and became a step that began the process of legalizing the Catholic Church on the island and de-isolating Cuba. Benedict XVI’s visit came at a time when the leadership changed, when Cuba was governed by Raul Castro, who conducted a series of reforms. And of course, Pope Francis played a key role in the process of restoring relations with the United States and the de-isolation of Cuba in the international arena. Cuba has undoubtedly benefited from the active interventions of Vatican diplomacy and the Holy See, which has been distinguished how in Cuba’s international statuses and so in Cuba’s economic, tourism and information areas. However, the Cuban breakthrough was also an achievement for the Holy See’s peacekeeping diplomacy on international arena. For a long time, Vatican diplomacy has once again received vocal recognition on the international stage. The Cuban breakthrough testified that even today in the XXI-st century, the «soft power» of the Vatican diplomacy See and the Pope of the Catholic Church are able to engage the conflicting parties in dialogue, to promote mutual understanding, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, international cooperation and security.


2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-620
Author(s):  
Martin Doherty

AbstractIt is often assumed, particularly by outsiders, that the conflict in Northern Ireland—known euphemistically as “the Troubles”—in which some 3,600 people lost their lives, was an atavistic throwback to Europe's religious wars of earlier centuries. In 1979, by which time some 2,000 people had already been killed in the Troubles, Pope John Paul II proposed to pay a visit to Ireland and perhaps to cross the border into Ulster's sectarian cockpit. The idea provoked outrage from some Ulster Protestants and high anxiety for the British, concerned that the Pope might inadvertently inflame the situation or embarrass the British by raising difficult issues. But there were hopes, too, that an unequivocal condemnation of violence by the head of the Catholic Church might help to bring the conflict to an end. This article, based on extensive research in diplomatic archives, reveals deep divisions within the Catholic Church on the Irish question and points to the power and limitations of the British diplomatic reach into the Vatican. It reveals also, however, the powerlessness of prayer and pleadings in the face of terrorist violence.


2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. e1-e6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Abbot

Book review: Faith and Reason: Evangelical letter Fides et Ratio of the supreme pontiff John Paul II to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the relation between faith and reason, 1998, Libreria Editrice Vaticana/Veritas, Dublin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-105
Author(s):  
Irene Alexander ◽  

This article seeks to demonstrate that the perverted faculty argument is at the foundation of magisterial teaching in sexual ethics. Yet new natural law (NNL) theorists have consistently condemned this argument for decades despite their claim that they support the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. This situation is incongruous. Current scholarship indicates that NNL theorists do not accept the rationale for magisterial teaching in sexual ethics because, despite their opposition to proportionalism, they still hold in common its most critical error—an error that Pope St. John Paul II was at pains to condemn in Veritatis splendor


Author(s):  
Gavin D'Costa

Chapter 4 examines the Holy See’s changing attitudes towards the Jewish State of Israel since 1948. Early views were based on theological supersessionism balanced by pragmatic and political concerns. This view slowly changed during the pontificate of John Paul II and the argument presented is that the logic of the Catholic Church’s theology requires it to affirm minimalist Catholic Zionism. This is defined in terms of recognizing God’s action in the ingathering of the Jewish people, the demands made upon the Jewish people regarding the land, and the centrality of the Palestinian claims regarding justice. The Catholic Church has disregarded this telos in its theology mainly due to pragmatic and political factors.


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