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According to Catholic theology, God offers a gift of love, known as divine grace, to all of humanity. This gift of divine grace is the gift of redemption and forgiveness of sins from God that is offered to everyone who decides to acknowledge and accept it. Grace is central to the lived experience of many Christians. This qualitative study examined how Catholics perceive and experience divine grace using interviews that assessed perceptions of divine grace in 29 practicing adult Catholics. A grounded theory analysis resulted in themes indicating that these Catholics view God’s divine grace as a tangible gift that is undeserved though continuously offered. The participants’ experience of God’s grace is not just an abstract theological concept but an embodied aspect of religious life with which believers can interact in many powerful ways. Three characteristics of God’s divine grace (i.e., salvific grace, cooperation through free will, primacy of conscience and the afterlife) and three mechanisms to experiencing God’s grace (i.e., sacraments, prayer and meditation, saints) are presented.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination is invariably abundant in all sorts of peoples, races, and other forms of intelligent life, including those whose prototypes could be encountered in the natural world and which found their way into Tolkien’s fiction with little alteration to their physical properties and only some modification of their often deep-rooted framework of cultural associations in Indo-European lore. This last group includes, amongst others, the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Tolkien’s ‘dangerous machine’, whose two principal affiliations appear to be with, on the one hand, the pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples (via the so-called beasts of battle) and, on the other, the pneumatological soteriology of the Roman Catholic Church (via the eagle as a creative recasting of the evangelical ‘dove’). The present article is an attempt to demonstrate that these seemingly incompatible ingredients in fact came to be quite seamlessly unified in The Hobbit and, in particular, The Lord of the Rings, providing even more depth to the powerful Christian substratum of Tolkien’s fiction.

Due to inherent paradoxy and limited sample size, fin-de-siècle English Catholic aesthetics are difficult to define, especially in the case of music. At the turn of the nineteenth century, English music and Catholic theology underwent a period of intense development and reconstruction, yet the intersection of theology and musical aesthetics in this era is largely under-researched. This paper identifies one such intersection using two monumental figures in theology and music: John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) and composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Newman’s theology provided a basis on which fin-de-siècle artists and poets could express their faith; such figures are associated with decadence. For both Newman and Elgar, decadent Catholicism combined with the traditionally Protestant English environment resulted in a complex relationship with their country and the continent. This paper examines this complex and paradoxical relationship between faith and nationality, and thus defines English Catholic aesthetics as they are expressed by Newman and Elgar.

The article examines the theological concepts of Semyon Frank that derive from the system of Nicholas of Cusa’s Neoplatonism. The ideas of Frank are problematic in origin, as they are attributed to different religious traditions. The paper disputes the compliance of the Frank’s Cusa-like Neoplatonism with the provisions of Catholic theology. The methodological foundation underlying the research is based on method of content reconstruction and historical and comparative method. With the view to scrutinizing the ideas of theologians, the content of Frank’s concept was reconstructed. It presents God as a spiritual Absolute and focuses on the problem of the balance stroked between God and the world, human beings and society as a whole. The leading methodological idea applied by Frank is the principle of antinomic monodualism as the coincidence of opposites in the formula unity of two or duality is one. Theological steps of argumentation in favour of the religious philosopher’s keeping aside of the Catholic path are as follows. Firstly, the critical attitude the philosophy of Nicholas of Cusa takes when facing the Catholic philosophy of those times serves as the evidence base and the obstacle for Frank to become a close ally of the Catholic thought. Secondly, the article notes the criticism Semyon Frank has of the Augustinian proposition about the insignificance of human being before God, which is foundational for Catholicism. Third, the article substantiates the compatibility of Frank’s ideas with the Orthodox ideal of sobriety and the system of external change of human being as the foundation of the system of Orthodox education and selfimprovement, thus obscuring the thoughts of his ties with Roman Latinism. Another research line treats the common features philosopher has with the third Christian confession. When comparing Frank with the Protestant theology, parallels occur (i.e. the Frank–Niebuhr Christian realism), but they are insufficient to claim the Protestant turn of Semyon Frank. As a result, it is concluded that Frank’s religious and philosophical conception is a theology of philosophical theism developed by a bearer of the Orthodox faith, not Catholicism. In relation to Orthodox theology, it is a soft, non-radical version of Orthodox modernism, in which solutions of problems that were contemporary to Frank are combined with maximum possible preservation of the provisions of the Orthodox theology.

This study offers theoretical explanations and distinctions associated with the phenomenon of conscience in social work. It uses the perspective of Roman-Catholic theology, or more precisely of the Roman-Catholic Church. It briefly reflects on an anthropology of conscience and then contemplates the essence of conscience and its relationship to the truth. In the reflection on the contradiction between Christian and secularized morality (given by the renowned Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar 1905-1988), it shows the importance of conscience in the value inconsistencies of the attitudes of today’s world. Finally, based on the impulses of the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis Amoris laetitia (2016), it reflects on practical impulses concerning the place and importance of conscience in social work.

The late great James Hal Cone (1938–2018) challenged white Christians to confront the sin of white supremacy. This article contends that white Catholic theologians collectively have yet to accept Cone’s righteous challenge. A scrutiny of the programming of the annual meetings of the Catholic Theological Society of America and publications in Theological Studies provides the evidence. Having made the case that white US Catholic theologians have not adequately processed Cone’s challenge, the article argues that an important reason for this failure is fear and proposes specific, concrete action steps for professional societies and scholars.

This theme is processed by Catholic theologian because the question of Free Masons is connected in the Catholic world frequently with a false presumption, a superstition, that Regular Free Masons are Satanists. Combating superstition is indeed the task of a theologian. In the first and preparative part of this study, the author presents the most important facts from the history of Regular Free Masons in the world and in Czech history. In the second and scientific contributive part, the author analyses the Masaryk’s texts which are dedicated to the issue of Free Masons in their chronological succession. In the conclusion, the author states, that T. G. Masaryk was never a Free Mason, and clarifies his relationship to this organization as diplomatic respect connected with combat for the liberty of conscience and democracy. The relationship between Catholics and Regular Free Masons should take the form of interreligious or ecumenical dialogues.

The Catholic theology of purgatory and its refutation in the works of the ideologists of Protestantism in the first third of the XVI century is analyzed in the article. The works of the little-known in the domestic historiography of the English reformer John Frith (1503-1533) are investigated. Frith’s commitment to Protestant dogmas on justification by faith and the exceptional authority of Holy Scripture is shown. It is noted that Frith, following them, denied the existence of purgatory, since it cannot be confirmed by the Holy Scriptures, and he interpreted the “cleansing fire” mentioned in the New Testament texts symbolically as torment of conscience and repentance. It is claimed that the theologian considered faith to be the atoning sacrifice of Christ the only means of salvation. It is concluded that the denial of purgatory naturally led Frith to a refutation of the Catholic practice of papal acts of grace and their theological justification, for which he was arrested and sentenced to be burned. It is emphasized that J. Frith called purgatory "creation" of the Roman pontiff and saw purely material reasons for the emergence and existence of faith in purgatory. It is noted that criticism by the English reformer of the Catholic faith in purgatory was subsequently reflected in the Anglican creed.

From the late thirteenth through late seventeenth centuries, a single three-word Latin phrase—sapiens dominabitur astris, or “the wise man will be master of the stars”—proliferated in astrological, theological, philosophical, and literary texts. It became a convenient marker denoting orthodox positions on free will and defining the boundaries of the scientifically and morally legitimate practice of astrology. By combining the methodology of a diachronic historical survey with a microhistorical focus on evolving phraseology, this study argues that closely examining the use of this phrase reveals how debates about the meanings of wisdom, free will, determinism, and the interpretation of stellar influence on human events changed radically across four centuries of Western European cultural and intellectual history. The first half of this article charts the scholastic response to theological criticisms of astrology and the reconciliation of Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmology with Catholic theology, paying special attention to its implications for astrology as viewed through scholarly uses of the phrase. The second half of the article shows how the phrase developed a multitude of idiosyncratic meanings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, fracturing its late medieval scholastic unity, as new forms of philosophical, socio-political, religious, and scientific critiques upended astrological beliefs and practices. Ultimately, this paper argues that examining the theory and praxis of astrology through the changing phraseological meanings of “sapiens dominabitur astris” allows historians and cultural anthropologists to better discern the dialectical (as opposed to binary) relationships between free will and determinism in the West.

Taking as object the religious education in public schools, the article seeks to make notes in the laws of guidelines and bases of national education, from Law No. 4024 to Law No. 9394, respectively of 1961 and 1996, taking into account that the last was amended in 1997 by Law No. 9475, as well as the clashes between religious and lay people that made up the scenario of drafting these laws. It is observed that the changes in religious education operated in accordance with the laws, but also in the forms of application of discipline in public schools, reflect the changes in catholic theology and thought during the twentieth century, since the Church Catholic was the great force of support of this discipline. It is observed that religious education in public schools results from an eagerness to legislate on matters of faith, of intimate forum, which results in external pressure to the school environment that tends to compromise the true purposes of school education: to guarantee individuals access to knowledge elaborated in a democratic environment and committed to respect for differences and freedoms of choice.

The Sacred Scriptures narrated the marvelous deeds of God. It is divided into the Old Testament, which narrates God's preparation for humankind's salvation, and the New Testament, which fulfills His promise. The Gospels serve explicitly as a witness to the divine realities as it records the life and mission of Jesus Christ that He truly exists for humanity's sake. The other epistle writings found in the New Testament foretold the beginning and growth of the Church in following Christ. This paper seeks to look at the relation between the Dogma of the Theotokosand Mark 6:3 on Jesus as the Son of Mary. In presenting the said theme, the following parts are discussed: first, A Short History of the Dogma of the Theotokos by looking into the context which leads to the promulgation of the teaching; second, the Inseparability of Mary with Jesus by tackling the connection between the Mother and Son; and third, the Dogma of the Theotokos and Mark 6:3 by relating the teaching on Mark's Gospel account which is an affirmation of Catholic theology regarding the person of Jesus.

The article analyzes the basic concepts of Christology in modern Catholic theology, which determine the Church's desire to protect the biblical teaching of the doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ by modernizing religious doctrines on the basis of modern terminology.This approach has led to the emergence of contemporary models of Christological doctrine, which have demonstrated the development and need of the Roman Catholic Church not to be aloof from contemporary political and social processes.Recent trends in Christological topics have their own peculiarities, reflecting the millennial existence of the Church. Religious analysis of the key problems of theological discourse in the Christological teachings of the representatives of Catholic theology led to the transformation of ideological orientations: from enlightenment, which justified belief in the human mind and scientific and technological progress, to the existential, defining a human as the personality-dialogical phenomenon;revealing the deep connection of Christology and soteriology as interdependent aspects of one phenomenon of salvation in the context of understanding the earthly existence of Jesus, the historical recollection of the Passions, the Death and Resurrection of Christ, and the psychological and ontological content of Jesus' consciousness through the prism of the ecology of Christ through the lens of Christ. It is established that a large number of theologians belonging to different Christian denominations are refining already existing or generating new concepts in understanding Christ as Savior of the world or historical Person, opening the boundary between the nature of Christ and His ministry.This contributed to the formation of Christological models that meet the urgent needs of the development of modern theology: evolutionary, existential-transcendental, monistic, liberation, eschatological, personal and spiritual.This approach promotes the search for common moments of Christological doctrines, which gives reason to speak as a perspective for the future, about the Christological basis of modern dialogue.However, the traditional doctrinal differences between Christian denominations are moving away from unity on a Christian basis.

The quest for knowledge regarding life after death is indispensable and paramount to most cultures and religions, including African spiritualties and mystery cults. Fr Augustine Urayai was a Roman Catholic priest and exorcist and this paper critically examines his theological reflections on death and life after death, particularly his idea of the “liminal/transitional phase” in the upward movement of spirits from earth to heaven for restoration and re-unification with God. The compulsory “liminal phase” or “zones” (magedhe) where all spirits pass through before their fate is ascertained comprises the resting, treatment, judgment, and feasting respectively. The article first examines the milieu in which Fr Urayai’s theology emerged and developed. As a way of analysis, it explores the age-old question of the immortality of the soul and its link with other religions, cultural and philosophical traditions. As it probes deeper, the article critically examines the ramifications and impact of Fr Urayai’s new theology on the Zimbabwe Christian landscape. The main argument developed in this article is that, even though Fr Urayai’s theory of life in the hereafter appears to be a breakaway from celebrated mainstream theological formulations, it has the potential to hatch useful insights into possible new areas of theological reflection in the ongoing discourses on the link between Christian anthropology and different African spiritualties.

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 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.

REV. ANDRZEJ PRONIEWSKI – is a priest of the Archdiocese of Bialystok and Professor and Director of the Department of Catholic Theology at the University of Bialystok; Director of the Theology Studium in Bialystok; and Editor of the Annual of Catholic Theology and Studies on Dogmatic Theology. His research focuses on dogmatic theology, hermeneutics, anthropology, the theology of suffering, the theology of Karl Rahner, the theology of Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, ecology, and interreligious dialogue.

In the last thirty years, theologians such as Milbank and Hauerwas have allowed ecclesiology to play a fundamental role in theology. This move is grounded in their conviction that the meaning of Christianity consists primarily not in its theory and doctrine but in its lived form, which is the church. Interestingly, this contemporary 'turn to the church' in many ways resembles an earlier revival of ecclesiology in the beginning of the twentieth century in Roman Catholic theology. In this paper, I will focus on the work of Henri de Lubac, and demonstrate how the particular way in which he develops his idea of the church might offer valuable insights for contemporary theology. First, I sketch how his particular understanding of the church as the social and historical embodiment of God's gracious action immediately implied an embrace of the social and historical world. Second, I argue that notwithstanding all his emphasis on the church, his particular understanding of the church as springing from the Eucharist means that the church is never idolized but always points beyond itself to God. I conclude by relating these insights to the contemporary turn to the church.

This article is devoted to my own Lenten choral and organ music. At first, I introduce my mo- tives for undertaking creative activity, which include, among others, the atmosphere of my familyhouse (my father, Wojciech Łukaszewski, was a composer). My inspiration to take up choral music was a ten-year collaboration with the choir of the Academy of Catholic Theology (currently Cardi-nal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw) under the management of the Reverend Kazimierz Szymonik. In the latter part of the article, I introduce my choral works, list the titles and then focus strictly on Passion and Paschal music. I present the circumstances in which those pieces were cre- ated, the details of their first performances and recordings, the texts they used and, furthermore, ana- lyze them, paying attention to the most distinctive features of my composing technique and style.

REV. TADEUSZ ZADYKOWICZ – was born in 1968 and graduated from the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bialystok and the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL). He obtained his Habilitation of Theological Sciences degree with a specialization in Moral Theology. Since 2001, he has conducted research and teaches at KUL’s Institute of Moral Theology. He is currently a professor in the Department of Fundamental Moral Theology and serves as the Director of the Institute of Moral Theology. Rev. Zadykowicz belongs to the following academic societies: the Scientific Society of KUL (2002-), the Society for Moral Theology (1999-), the Scientific Society of Lublin (2003-), the European Society for Catholic Theology (2004-), and the Francis de Sales Scientific Society (2008-). His primary research interests include: the morality of religious life; the contemporary context of religious and moral life; the biblical and cultural premises of morality; the role of personal examples in the Christian moral life; the morality of researchers and conducting research.

During one of the most violent phases of the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598), the Spanish Jesuit Juan Maldonado made an extraordinarily original contribution to early-modern demonology. This contribution did not originally take on a printed form: rather it started life as a theological course taught at one of the most prestigious and innovative Parisian educational institutions of the period. Between 1551 and 1557 Maldonado studied grammar, Greek, logic, rhetoric and philosophy in Salamanca. Even more recent historians have, for the most part ignored him and have continued to underestimate his significance both for his contribution to Catholic theology and demonology, and for his role in the Wars of Religion. The lectures dedicated to impure spirits also show a trace of bitterness which reflected the anti-Protestant fanaticism of the author, disappointed by the outcome of the Third War of Religion (1568-1570), which made considerable concessions to French Protestants.

The foundations and principles of Catholic theology as unity and identity, require a permanent turn to the unique message of Christ, a message that we need to announce with courage and conviction. Therefore, it is legitimate to speak about the need for a certain unity of theology. Thus we must bear in mind that the concept of unity needs to be carefully understood so as not to be confused with uniformity or with an individual style. The unity of theology and the whole Church, as professed in the Creed, must be closely linked to the idea of catholicity, as well as to holiness and apostolicity. Uniqueness and identity come from Christ, Savior of the world. The theology of unity and identity that wants to be "Catholic" must participate in the catholicity and in the unity of the Church, which ultimately is based on the trinitarian unity of God himself. "œThe fact that there is one Saviour shows that there is a necessary bond between catholicity and unity. As it explores the inexhaustible Mystery of God and the countless ways in which God"™s grace works for salvation in diverse settings, theology rightly and necessarily takes a multitude of forms, and yet as investigations of the unique truth of the triune God and of the one plan of salvation centered on the one Lord Jesus Christ, this plurality must manifest distinctive family traits". Theology is catholic in the richness of the plurality of its expressions, protagonists, ideas and contexts and, therefore it is born from the attentive listening of the Word of God, it is incardinated in the communion of the Church and it is oriented to the service of the truth. Keywords: unity, identity, Catholic theology, holiness, apostolicity, Jesus Christ, Trinity

“The Doctrine of God in Luther, Calvin and Arminius – Part III: Comparison between the Reformers and Classical Theism”—The rupture of Luther, Calvin, and Arminius with doctrines of classical theology such as justification by works and a clerical ecclesiology, is undeniable. However, it is important to ask whether this reform included the doctrine of God, given its centrality to the entire theological system. This article is the third of a series of three that has as its objective to compare the methodology and hermeneutical presuppositions of Luther, Calvin, and Arminius with those of classical theism (scholastic Catholic theology) to determine if they departed from the methodology of sola Scriptura to elaborate the doctrine of God, following the methodology of multiple sources of classical theology.

A morte é um evento antropológico que gera consequências escatológicas. A teologia clássica desdenhou o tema da morte devido à preocupação com o pós-morte. A definição clássica da morte (separação de corpo e alma) é antropologicamente insuficiente por sua falta de densidade pessoal. O tema da morte, em primeiro lugar, ganhou relevância antropológica com a filosofia contemporânea, principalmente com Heidegger. A morte é uma possibilidade iminente que reside no interior da existência. Da filosofia, o tema da morte passou para teologia protestante e católica e, principalmente sob o influxo de Heidegger, recebeu um tratamento humano. A teoria da “decisão final”, expressão da antropologia da morte, concentrou sua atenção sobre o que ocorreria com as relações entre o corpo e a alma no momento pontual da morte. Abstract: Death is an anthropological event that leads to eschatological consequences. Classical theology dismissed the theme of death in view of its concern with the afterlife. The classic definition of death (the separation of body and soul) is anthropologically insufficient because of its lack of personal density. The theme of death gained anthropological relevance for the first time with contemporary philosophy, especially with Heidegger. Death is an imminent possibility that lies within the existence. From philosophy the theme of death passed into Protestant and Catholic theology and especially under Heidegger’s influence, received a humane treatment. The theory of “final decision”, an expression of the anthropology of death, focused its attention on what would happen with the relationship between body and soul at the actual time of death.Keywords: Life. Death. Anthropology. Imminent possibility. Term-realization.

The concept of “dissent” is of recent coinage and narrow use in Catholic theology. However, since rereadings of Catholic tradition through the lens of cultural studies have revealed its constitutive plurality, we are faced with a profound tension between a critical description of ecclesial polyphony and the normative ideals of unity and consensus. This interdisciplinary reappraisal of tradition raises far-reaching theological questions: Do we necessarily have to refer to inner-ecclesial polyphony as “dissent”? Does “dissent” silently rely on (and thus reinforce) established hierarchies of authority in the church? What could be counterhegemonic frameworks that resist entrenched power/knowledge regimes in the church? In which ways could “dissent” be reconceived to allow for a constructive approach to inner-ecclesial plurality? Once we raise questions such as these, we begin to see that Catholic theology lacks adequate models for a reflection of ecclesial polyphony in its full complexity. This roundtable addresses this lacuna: it offers critical case studies of historical and contemporary forms of “dissent” within the church, and it engages the theological and ecclesiological issues at stake.

Catholic theology defines grace in general as a gift of God to human beings, and sanctifying grace as the kind that remains in the soul. The operation of invisible grace is not, strictly speaking, ...

In seventeenth-century France, secular law favoured parents’ authority in children's choices of marriage, religion or the clerical state, despite Catholic theology and canon law favouring individual freedom. Negotiating this tension led many clerical writers – in advice on choosing a state of life found in devotional treatises, sermons and catechisms – to reconcile parental involvement with vocational liberty. Believing that the right choice of a state was virtually necessary for salvation, they urged parents and children to cooperate in discerning and accepting God's call. Amid conflicts with French law and culture, pastoral persuasion helped to forge an enduringly influential strain in modern Catholicism.

In light of the fecundity and diversity of Catholic theology since Vatican II, a 2012 report of the International Theological Commission (ITC) identified perspectives, principles, and criteria—distinctive family traits—of Catholic theology, what Pope Benedict XVI called its “genetic code”: primacy of the Word of God; the faith of the Church as its source, context, and norm; the science of faith; drawing constantly on the canonical witness of Scripture; fidelity to the Apostolic Tradition; attention to the sensus fidelium; responsible adherence to the ecclesiastical magisterium; practiced in collaboration with the whole company of theologians; in dialogue with the world; giving a scientifically and rationally argued presentation of the Christian faith; integration of plurality in the intellectus fidei; and sapiential. This article marks the 10th anniversary of the ITC report by offering a critical commentary on the criteria, examining the possibilities, limitations, and tensions inherent in each, and the ongoing relevance of these criteria for contemporary Catholic theology. It argues that although the aim of the ITC report is not to promote uniformity but to avoid fragmentation, and its framework is an ecclesiology of communion, when the interpretative possibilities of theology are discussed, the report tends to retreat from these possibilities and adopt a restrictive emphasis on conformity. The article then examines what Pope Francis (2013–) says about the characteristics of Catholic theology and the role of theologians in his major documents and his addresses to faculties of theology. It argues that Francis makes a distinctive contribution to consideration of what is “authentically” Catholic theology, and may offer a less restrictive understanding of such theology for the diverse academic, cultural, and ecclesial contexts in which Catholic theologians find themselves.

The article presents the fundamental ecclesiology of the contemporary Catholic theologian Salvador Pie-Ninot (*1941). The text shows the way in which he solves the question of the credibility of the Church and the attitudes of private Christianity with its negative attitude towards the Church (believing without belonging). Pie-Ninot underlines that the credibility of the Church is dependent on revelation and that the character of faith is ecclesial. He interconnects the last two councils: the concept of the Church, whose divine character is approachable by man (via empirica, the way of experience) as it is taught by the First Vatican Council, with the ecclesial stances of the Second Vatican Council, which reduces the emphasis on the attributes of the Church in favour of revelation, the person of Jesus Christ and a personal relationship to him. Pie-Ninot then offers the way of testimony, which includes the outer (for example, apostolic tradition) and inner form of churchly reality (personal life according to the demands of the Gospel) and perceives the Church as a privileged space of God’s revelation and salvation.

In 1918, after the 120 years of occupation by three neighbouring powers, Austria, Prussia and Russia, Poland obtained its desired independence and returned on the map of Europe. Warsaw became the capital of the Republic once again. One of the authorities’ first moves was to resume the activities of the University of Warsaw that were disrupted by the war. We needed qualified staff who would rebuild the country. This concerned politics, administration, culture…, and the religious life of our homeland. For this purpose, the Faculty of Catholic Theology was established (1918), Faculty of Lutheran Theology (1922), and in 1925, the Faculty of Orthodox Studies was also opened. Throughout the 14 years of its existence up to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the Faculty of Orthodox Studies faithfully fulfilled its mission of serving the Church, education and the homeland. It educated priests and theologians dedicated to the church and citizens committed to their homeland. Unfortunately, the process of building today’s well organized and extensive structure of higher (and secondary) Orthodox theological schooling in Poland was neither simple nor short lived. After the war, when the University of Warsaw refused the Faculty of Orthodox Studies the right to further operate, it turned into the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the Christian Theological Academy to continue serving God, the Church and education. The Orthodox Theological Seminary in Warsaw experienced many changes and processes after the war in order to obtain its current shape and level. The Department of Orthodox Theology at the University of Bialystok was established in 1999. It is a continuation and expansion of the theological education at the University of Warsaw. The Faculty of Orthodox Studies at the University of Warsaw, the Christian Theological Academy, the Orthodox Theological Seminary and the Department of Orthodox Theology at the University of Bialystok, along with post-secondary studies in iconography and hymnography, as related academic and didactic units, have performed and still performs their tasks in serving education and the Orthodox Church. By mutually taking advantage of this experience (it should rather be said that taking advantage of the Faculty of Orthodox Studies at the University of Warsaw after the war), they fulfilled their expectations despite difficult times and unfavourable politics. They form a constantly developing spiritual and cultural common heritage of the Republic.

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on 31 October 1517, he did so in protest at abuses in Catholic theology and practice. Contemporary times, too, call for protest. The first “protest” concerns the revitalization of education and an increased commitment to intellectual excellence. The second “protest” concerns a recovery of Luther as a figure of protest. While scholars have tamed Luther's dangerous doctrines, the popular imagination still perceives him as an urban legend who spoke truth to power. An expansive notion of scholarship on Luther is required in order to approach a Luther who continues to inspire people around the world. The third “protest” is a critical protest of Luther's religious intolerance, specifically his anti-Judaism. Christian theologians must acknowledge Luther's anti-Judaism as central to his theology and radically revise this legacy to promote justice in inter-religious relations.

Catholics in Indonesia perceive that the Republic of Indonesia is founded by many elements of religious entity. The strength of the state completely lies on the agreement of many adherents of religion to unite as an independent country. The spirit of nationalism is the acknowledgement of all people who are equally important to enhance the dignity of Indonesia. The research on Catholics in Kupang is aimed at understanding the relationship of Catholic theology and nationalism in socio-political practices and current realities of the adherents, especially the religious elites, public figures, Catholics in general, and youth. Based on the result of the research, it is highly recommended that the formulation of national identity and guarantee of the religious freedom is important. It is equally important to strengthen the nationalism by enhancing the understanding of Catholic theology.

Female bodies as sexual and reproductive are subject to much scrutiny in Western societies and the church. Mysteriously missing from discourses related to such scrutiny is the reality of menstruation and its place in theology and females’ lives. From within a feminist theological perspective, this article aims to recover menstruation and menstrual awareness, and to advocate for the positive possibilities of widespread recognition and acceptance of, and engagement with, these realities to advance female presence in sexual theology and related discourses. In engaging contemporary social discussions, Jewish and Christian histories of menstruation, contemporary sexual theologies, and varied feminist theologies, this article proposes a robust view of menstruation in the sexual lives of faithful females.

In this essay, I will argue that a political theology of human work can provide the sacramental principle underlying the theology of labor. This principle could complement the foundations of Catholic social teaching, since the sacramental aspects of work have not been made very explicit in the ethical framework of the Church's theology of work. The view of labor as the active participation in God's future is an important aspect of such a theology. In order to serve as a foundation for faith-based labor organizing, I will claim that it needs to be complemented by a sacramental view of labor as art, a labor-aesthetic that undergirds a labor-ethic, in which labor itself becomes a sign and instrument of the way the Church becomes God's work in the world. First, I will sketch an outline of some of the major positions on labor in modern Catholic theology. Then, I will draw on the writings of the British poet and painter David Jones to explore a sacramental view of human work, arguing that a sacramental view of work could support the Church's social criticism of laborer's circumstances.

This article investigates the possibility of communicating racialized suffering in meaningful and transformative ways among the triracial hierarchy now present in the U.S. The author argues that a theological tool, an analogia vulneris (analogy of the wound), may assist us to resist the gravity of the abyss of Whiteness into which we are drawn. The author suggests that the Catholic principle of analogical speech about God may be reoriented to enable individuals and groups to communicate and to create community through their wounds. The author engages with sociology and the history of racial formation in the U.S. to describe how Whiteness functions as an idolatrous space to be resisted. The author concludes that an analogia vulneris may enable “Whites” and “Honorary Whites”, in particular, to foster a historical-critical religious racialized consciousness and to create paschal communities of resistance to Whiteness that are glimpses of Christ’s wounded, resurrected Body.

Starting out from John Barclay's Lutheran‐inclined, actualist reading of the in‐breaking quality of grace and the Spirit in Paul, this article asks how a Catholic theology of grace – typically more focused on identifying the relatively stable structures and effects of grace – might with integrity learn from the Barclayan‐Lutheran‐Pauline difference. By pursuing a close, four‐step reading of Thomas Aquinas' theology of grace, as that appears in the Summa Theologiae and his lectures on the Pauline epistles, the article demonstrates that just such a Catholic appropriation of a more dynamic graced actualism is indeed possible; one which leads, with dynamic integrity, to a deepened understanding, articulation and practice of core Catholic instincts rather than to their reduction or distortion.

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.

In order to propose a more positive, appealing, and theologically accurate account of Catholic institutions’ case for religious freedom in the context of current sexual expression laws, this article will proceed as follows: Part I will discuss the sexual expression laws commonly triggering free exercise defenses by Catholic institutions, the defenses themselves, and the negative reactions they provoke. Part II will treat Catholic theology about the necessity of mutual witness within a community for sustaining and transmitting the Catholic faith. Part III will discuss the relationship between Catholic teachings on sex, marriage and parenting, and forming and transmitting Catholic faith. It will note that these teachings are only one part of Catholic community life and identity, but that they require special attention today in light of the frequency with which the state is intruding into Catholic communities on the basis of claimed sexual expression rights. Part IV will suggest how each type of free exercise defense commonly used by Catholic institutions in sexual expression lawsuits, might be strengthened if framed according to my proposal. These defenses would better conform to Catholic theology, allow for positive expression, appeal to common sense, and more fully satisfy both the spirit and the letter of the law of free exercise. A brief conclusion will reassert the necessity for Catholic institutions’ authority over employment and operations, and address a few collateral questions concerning implications for state funding, and fears about too broad a scope of institutional freedom.

Boecio representa uno de los hitos más importantes en la reflexión cristiana sobre el destino y la providencia, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta las aportaciones de Proclo a estas cuestiones. Por ello, La consolación de la filosofía se considera una obra crucial para el desarrollo de este tema. Sin embargo, Boecio también expone sus ideas en su comentario al libro que constituye uno de los textos más antiguos y relevantes sobre el problema de los contingentes futuros, a saber, el De interprete de Aristóteles. Aunque Santo Tomás se refiere muchas veces a Boecio en sus obras sistemáticas e incluso dedica dos comentarios a dos de sus opúsculos teológicos, es de especial interés que ambos autores compusieran un comentario sobre la citada obra de Aristóteles. El comentario de Santo Tomás no interpreta todo el libro, pero sí estudia las páginas sobre futuros contingentes en diálogo con Boecio. Estudiaremos tales textos en nuestra presentación. Constituyen una de las mayores contribuciones de Tomás de Aquino al problema de la necesidad y la contingencia y, por tanto, a la vexata quaestio de la intervención divina en el mundo y particularmente en el libre albedrío humano. No sólo Agustín, sino también Aristóteles (leído por Boecio) y Nemesio de Emesa serán decisivos en la percepción de Tomás de Aquino sobre este asunto.

This article critically engages, section by section, a 2018 essay on Catholic-Jewish relations by emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. It is the result of joint analysis by a Jewish professor and a Catholic professor who co-direct an academic institute devoted to Catholic-Jewish relations. Benedict’s treatment of such topics as supersessionism, the “unrevoked covenant,” and the State of Israel is complex, and his reasoning is often difficult to follow, but the authors conclude that his essay makes genuine contributions to a Catholic theology of relations with Jews and Judaism that deserve serious, dispassionate, and critical study. This is true despite some serious weaknesses, especially its lack of consistent engagement with Judaism as lived by Jews today.

O presente texto busca apresentar as posições de diferentes correntes de pensamento quanto à tributação. Iniciando a confrontação entre as correntes ao longo da história, pela apresentação da corrente da teologia católica; seguido de como a lei natural responde à questão da moralidade nos impostos, assim como a visão escolástica sobre o problema, o pensamento dos liberais clássicos e da escola austríaca, e por fim, no intuito de colocar a questão na contemporaneidade, buscando responder se a cobrança de imposto é justa ou não.

An ecclesiastical role of the two Sacraments, namely Baptism and Eucharist, has been presented with an ecumenical sensitivity in the perspective of Catholic and Protestant theology. The presentation of the Church and the Sacraments in the Medieval Catholic theology is the starting point of these considerations. Then we have sketched the discrepancies between the Roman theology in force at that time, and the postulates of the reformers in the XV and XVI century’s tendencies for the renewal of the whole Church. The next part of the article focuses on the perspective of the Church and its connections with Baptism and the Eucharist in the original Lutheran doctrine. Further analysis is a presentation of the modern approaches of these connections in both Catholic and Protestant perspectives. The synthesis for this study is the common Baptismal and Eucharistic elements, which make up the ecclesiastical reality, despite of Sacramental differences in their understanding. Baptism and Eucharist make ecclesial unity. Thanks to this theoretical and theological reflection there is a clearer view of pastoral and practical possibilities of brining those two traditions of the divided Christianity of the West (Roman/Lutheran) closer.

The paper discusses the crucial significance of the theme of the Priesthood of the Virgin Mary for the development of Byzantine iconography, and the Christian visual culture in general. The Priesthood of the Virgin Mary has, since the late Middle Ages, become a very popular topic in Roman Catholic theology, with influence also on the iconography of the Latin West. In Byzantine theology this theme has never been articulated as doctrine, whether positively or negatively. However, in Eastern Christian homiletics and hymnography the notion and metaphor of the Virgin’s priesthood is easily perceived. Some church fathers compared the Virgin with the Priest and at the same time with the Altar Table, on which “she has offered to us Christ as Heavenly Bread for the redemption of sins”. In the author’s view, through the notion of the Priesthood of the Virgin only, as present in the minds of iconographers, we are able to understand the symbolic meaning of several pictorial motifs which have remained unexplained.

Mainline Protestant theologians constructed new definitions of conscience in the 1960s and 1970s by appropriating Catholic sources. Protestant theologians, after previously seeing Catholics as suppressors of conscience, had come by the 1970s to acknowledge the Catholic Church's expertise on the theology of conscience. While the Second Vatican Council and the ecumenical movement provided a backdrop for the exchange of ideas on conscience, they were not the driving force behind the Protestant engagement with Catholic perspectives. Rather, theologians like C. Ellis Nelson (a Presbyterian who taught at New York's Union Theological Seminary) turned to Catholic sources after becoming intensely critical of Protestant teachings on the autonomy of conscience. Increasingly, Protestants dismissed their own conceptions of conscience as inadequate, prompting a search for new sources with which to develop a positive theology of conscience. Both groups found themselves studying psychology and psychoanalysis to apply their findings to conscience. Psychology proved a gateway to Catholic theology. Protestants found that the Catholic theology of conscience—particular its emphasis on formation—helped them to construct new understandings of conscience.

The broken relation among culture and faith becomes “drama of our times” (Paul VI), thus, overcoming that broken relation has always been a challenge for the Church, catholic theology and spirituality. This article, first, signals the penetration of culture into Christianity and makes you more familiar with what ancients fought about culture. And next, gives two positive examples about shaping the culture through the faith; first, in the Karolin epoch (7 th —9 th century), using the example of Benedict monks’ contribution, second, in the golden era of French spirituality (17 th century), using the examples of Saint Francis de Sales’ spiritual teachings and Saint Vincent de Paul’s educational and charity works. The further part of the article shows the progressing departure of culture from faith beginning with French Renaissance and through the era of Enlightenment until the complete cessation of common relation in philosophical currents of 19 th century. The last part of the article shows the new relation of the Church to the world and culture initiated by the Second Vatican Council, which further was continued and developed through the teachings of the Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, and evangelism activity. Such relation is based upon a wide understanding of culture (what was worked out by secular science and expresses themselves (among other things) in inculturation of the faith, faith’s creative role of culture and intermediary role of faith in realization of evangelization.