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Since the time of its institution, the Catholic Church has consistently and unequivocally condemned direct, intentional termination of pregnancy at any stage or abortion as a gravely immoral and sinful act and a deplorable affront to human life and dignity. However, an incomplete understanding of Catholic theology and the interplay between various internal Church structures has led some to assert either that the Church has changed her position over time or that the morality of the question hinges on the subjective beliefs and circumstances of the individuals involved. This chapter aims to clarify the philosophical, theological, and structural distinctions that give rise to this erroneous interpretation of the Church’s teaching.

In times of climate change, population growth and international land speculation, soil protection is of special importance for sustainable development. The multiple functions of soil are endangered worldwide by a creeping process of degradation. From an ethical point of view this has to be answered by a paradigm shift towards nature-compatible agriculture and area planning. This shift touches upon not only some aspects of agricultural policy, development cooperation and consumption habits but also requires a deep transformation of values. In consequence theology is challenged to rediscover forgotten aspects of creation theology in which soil plays an astonishingly crucial role. For instance, the bible dubs the first human adam, “earthling” (cf. adamah, soil): he belongs to earth and soil, he is made from it. Soil protection is a question of culture. Against this background, the following theses infer ten ethical guidelines for soil protection.

In his 1966 book The Church Inside Out, J. C. Hoekendijk noted that various churches allow intercommunion in what are considered abnormal situations. The traditional language that applied to such practices was for situations considered to be “in extreme.” (in extremis). Roman Catholic theology traditionally applied the notion of in extremis to situations near death where one had passed a point of no return, but Hoekendijk noted that the concept was also applied to missionary contexts and to times of social crisis. Hoekendijk went on to argue that the current social context was such a situation of in extremis that called for us to engage in ecclesiastical actions otherwise considered irregular. Following Hoekendijk’s own arguments elsewhere in the book, however, I argue that it is not the times we are living through that are in extremis. Rather, it is the nature of the Gospel itself to render any age or context in extremis.

This chapter takes a close look at Martin Luther’s teachings in order to examine its relationship to psychology. Martin Luther was not the only one rebelling against the papacy and Catholic theology, but he conceivably had the greatest impact with his theological arguments. He brings about the theological turning point. In Catholic theology, faith and salvation were seen as objective dimensions, not controlled by the individual but by the Church. Luther fundamentally changed this by linking faith primarily to the individual’s subjective confession, admitting to having a sinful nature. This change is presented as a central argument for legitimizing subjectivity. According to this theology, although sinful nature is an objective reality, it is only when this sinful nature results in a subjective acknowledgment, that one can obtain salvation. Thus, this chapter argues that Protestantism reinforces the justification of subjectivity and also expresses a particular need to gain a deeper insight into human nature. This is how Melanchthon gains acceptance for his new and expanded understanding of Aristotle’s De Anima. This chapter also presents another crucial argument. When Luther claims that theology should relate only to the Bible and not to philosophy, emphasized by the slogan sola scriptura; this also has major implications for philosophy. Philosophy can no longer be based on theology. It must find a new foundation. The claim here is that the Reformation prevents philosophy from relying on theological teachings. This creates a vacuum in the foundation of philosophy, and this foundation must therefore be replaced.

William Shaw Kerr (1873–1960), Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Dromore from 1944 to 1955, gave his recreations in Who’s Who as “Fishing, controversy.” And, indeed, one of the features of his long career was his combative approach to Roman Catholicism. He was, in fact the last of a long line of Church of Ireland bishops and clergy who saw their main intellectual role as defending Protestantism by attacking the errors of “the Church of Rome.” Academically bright and determined in argument, Kerr was not an original thinker, but he did forcefully and comprehensively represent the essentials of the Irish Protestant intellectual case in two popular works which framed his career, the early Independence of the Celtic Church in Ireland (1931), and his last publication, A Handbook on the Papacy (1950). The first summarised the historical claim of the Church of Ireland to be the church of Ireland. The Handbook was a lengthy account of the errors, abuses and corruption of the popes and of Catholic theology, much of which could easily have been written in the sixteenth century. Though well received within his Church, the Handbook in fact it marked the end of an era. This chapter concludes by analysing the new ecumenical mood, exploring how religious, intellectual and social shifts in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s led to the end of this style of controversial theology.

This chapter omits to repeat what the Catholic Church expresses on and of life issue as this has been amply explored. Rather it explores the underlying Catholic theology in its current understanding of ‘relations’ and’ fraternity’. To do so it goes through the principles affecting bioethical thought and the new concepts of Trinitarian theology and how this is understood to contribute to communitarianism and in turn how this affects end of life care. The importance of virtues is re-visited as a ‘venue’ to the relationship, where this in turn determines the ambience around the patient. In this regard a more recent interpretation of the image of God (imago die) is presented as the possibility of relation with the other. Imago Dei is thus a potential to be reached and a possibility present in all persons.

The fundamental aspects of Catholic theology and ecclesiastical structure may be the same throughout “Greater China,” but the forms of life engendered by the church have differed dramatically in different sociopolitical contexts. For illustration, we compare the development of Catholicism in the “Third Globalization of Catholicism” in the second half of the twentieth century in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. All of the areas of the Chinese world discussed here share the same basic Chinese traditional culture, but differences in their political, social and economic circumstances lead the same Catholic theology to be heard, practiced, and institutionalized in different ways. Global Catholicism is localized differently in the different localities of the Chinese world.

This chapter analyzes how soteriological exclusivism poses a fundamental problem for Reformed Christians who desire to learn from other religions and to engage with them in a non-exclusivist manner. The chapter probes the work of Catholic comparative theologians, especially Francis X. Clooney, S.J., to address whether and how Reformed theologians could attempt a similar project without the inclusivist foundations of contemporary Catholic theology. The author treats three primary questions: Can soteriological exclusivists engage in comparative theology? How can Reformed theology engage in comparative theology without reconsidering its soteriological commitments? Finally, are there any models of Reformed theology that offer an insight into the possibility of performing comparative theology? The author draws on the Neo-Calvinist tradition to argue that Reformed theology offers a unique perspective by which soteriological exclusivists can practice comparative theology, especially by distinguishing between soteriology and epistemology, and shows that a Reformed theological model exists upon which one can successfully pursue such comparative work.

This is a pope I want to agree with. He behaves and writes empathetically and behaves with what seems like huge care and humility, which goes a long way. Within the confines of Catholic theology, he comes across as a reformer, perhaps even a radical, disavowing the pomp of the Vatican and, from the outside at least, trying to build bridges with those who may have felt alienated from the church in preceding years.

Daniel Minch considers the theological dimension of William Desmond’s philosophy, particularly within the context of twentieth-century Catholic theology. After Vatican II, theologians recognized the impoverished nature of thinking about creation and the creator in dualistic terms. Building on both Edward Schillebeeckx’s hermeneutic interpretation of Christian faith and on Desmond’s fourfold sense of being, Minch opens a way of thinking the relationship between immanent nature and transcendence beyond modernity’s postulatory finitism.

While the Catholic theology of gender places great emphasis on the gendered body, it tends to be overly abstract and simplistic. A more realistic theology of gender must be centered on actual women in the midst of their lives. This essay reflects on what a Catholic theology of gender can learn from Hindu women’s everyday rituals—which transform women’s bodies and channel power ritually through women to their families and society—in conversation with mujerista theology (Latina and Hispanic women’s theology). Ultimately, Tiemeier aims to reconstruct a broader ritual theology that decenters the male hierarchy, recenters the sacred on the gendered body engaged in the world, and expands the Catholic sacramental imagination into the ritual of everyday life.

In this paper, an argument in support of a transdisciplinary shift in how Catholic theology is to be pursued will be offered – one developed on the basis of the recent papal encyclical Laudato si’. To be sure, this ecologically-engaged text from Pope Francis holds firmly to the traditional principle of human uniqueness within the created order. However, within it, this idea has been developed further in some important respects. The paper elaborates two related problem areas: the first is the human ability to be a responsible creature, while the second is the human capacity to engage in various kinds of dialogue. In fact, these issues are bound together: it is in dialogue that a human being discovers their responsibility towards their partner in dialogue. Dialogue, in turn, seems nowadays to be the sole responsible approach to tackling the issues affecting humanity and the Earth. I aim to give further substance to these statements, stressing in particular the need for an inter- or trans-disciplinary theology, which may be seen as a responsible dialogical contribution on the part of Christianity to the contemporary search for a balanced world-order.

Much of the content of the Black Notebooks relates to Heidegger’s irritation with what he saw as a range of misinterpretations and misappropriations of his work. These include those who see Being and Time as derivative of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche as well as those who try to apply Heidegger’s thought to contemporary philosophical issues. He is particularly hostile to Catholic theology, naming Romano Guardini as exemplifying what is wrong in such applications. This chapter explores Heidegger’s antipathy in relation to Guardini’s own theological-philosophical project with the aim of specifying just what Heidegger saw as the essential point at issue.