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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.

These seven theses suggest the centrality of reflection on Patristic theology for the enterprise of dogmatic theology in a Catholic context. Dogmatic theology itself is used here as an alternative to the modern use of “systematic” theology. In order to see why and how Patristic theology should occupy this place, reflection is necessary on the theology of tradition—and the continual authority of Patristic texts for Catholic theologians—and then on the importance of post-Renaissance modes of historiography. These discussions constitute part of a theological reflection on the nature of theology itself. Although the aim of this piece is to discuss the configuration of (Latin) Catholic theology, the questions raised should be of interest to theologians across a broad ecumenical range.

The study focuses on scientific and methodological questions related to Catholic theology. It demonstrates that theology can be considered “science” only when it meets certain conditions. But it is precisely from its specific epistemological characteristics, that theology derives its own power to provoke and challenge other sciences and to organize the universitas studiorum in an increasingly secularized Europe. The indications of the most recent pontifical magisterium related to theological renewal are decisive in achieving this goal.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world and forced Catholics to go online to celebrate the Eucharist has been the greatest logistical challenge to Catholic sacramental theology in recent times. This article aims to clarify whether technology-mediated presence or telepresence in online Masses is real and acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church especially during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that due to the lack of updating of its sacramental theology, which is still based on scholastic philosophy, Catholic theology continues to view physical presence as the only valid way of fulfilling religious obligation despite the growing influence of telepresence in religious life. If seen from a more sociological and holistic perspective, this article contends that telepresence in digital Eucharistic celebrations is real and not “artificial,” as participants lose awareness of their immediate surroundings and become one with Christ in the virtual celebration. It further argues that the validity of telepresence in the reception of the Eucharist should not be judged solely on a theological framework that was appropriate only during the medieval and Tridentine eras. Applying the actor-network theory, it ultimately claims that technological and human networks are inseparable in today's digital culture. Thus, the digital Eucharist is as real as participating in a physical Eucharist. The Catholic Church must therefore update and redefine its sacramental theology to better respond to the needs of the times. © Common Ground Research Networks, Vivencio O. Ballano, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

In this paper, discussing the way metaphysics and Christology relate to each other, we will attempt to shed the light on the problem of the ontological mediation of the "whole truth" of Jesus Christ. Our argument will be developed in dialogue with selected Christological proposals of German­-speaking Catholic theology of the second half of the twentieth century (Rahner, Balthasar, Kasper, Hunermann) and, above all, with Trinitarian­-ontological and Trinitarian­-Christological approach of Klaus Hemmerle (1929–1994). Hemmerle’s most well-known essay "Theses for a Trinitarian Ontology" (Thesen zu einer trinitarischen Ontologie) deals with the problem of new genuinely Christian Trinitarian ontology. This simultaneously theological and philosophical approach could help us articulate the "whole truth" of Jesus Christ in a new, convincing manner. In conclusion, following Hemmerle, we will suggest where Christology becomes absolutely indispensable in relation to ontology.

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.

Anna Bonta Moreland’s Muhammad Reconsidered is an exceptional contribution to the fields of Catholic–Islamic studies, Christian theology of religions, and Catholic theology of post-canonical revela...

This article deals with the infl uence of F. Schleiermacher’s ideas on Möhler’s ecclesiology (of the time when he was writing the Unity in the Church). In this comparison, most interesting is Christian Faith, the main work on dogmatics by F. Schleiermacher (first edition 1821‒1822). Unfortunately, this work is not translated into Russian and has not been studied in Russia. The bulk of literature and mentions of F. Schleiermacher draw on his earlier work, On religion: Speeches to its cultured despisers (1799). However, Schleiermacher’s views underwent considerable change during the twenty-year period between these works. Despite the fact that the mentions of Schleiermacher are very few in the Unity, it was already Möhler’s contemporaries who criticised him for violating the purity of the Catholic doctrine under the infl uence of Schleiermacher’s philosophy. Certain parallels in their reasong are pointed to by the present-day scholars of Möhler as well. Both theologians belonged to the period of Romanticism, and its ideological content and principles of thinking refl ect in their texts. Beside the shared cultural and historical horizon, they are also brought close to each other by the situation having developed in the Catholic and Protestant theologies of that time, i.e. a certain stance against the receding theology of Enlightenment, appeal to the internal religious experience and necessity to combine it with Christian ecclesiology. The issue of Church comes to be a challenge of that time. Against the background of this context, shared and valued by both of them, the diff erences between them conditioned by their diff erent confessions become more prominent. Virtually all meaningful statements made by Möhler about the Holy Spirit repeat what Schleiermacher said about the Christian common spirit (Gemeingeist). This determines his understanding of Tradition, of the unity of Church and of the Christian faith as a “new life”. This being said, A. Möhler rejects and fi ercely criticises Schleiermacher’s identifi cation of the Holy Spirit with the Christian “common spirit” as pantheism, and also the idea of the invisible Church which allowed Schleiermacher to reject the institutional unity of the historical Church and the defi niteness of Tradition.

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.

John Barclay offers a capacious and helpful framework for reflection on large swathes of the history of the theology of grace with his notion of the six ways of ‘perfecting the gift’. In this article, I extend his analysis to a consideration of certain typical differences between Catholic and Protestant conceptions of grace. Where Protestant theology tends toward a juxtaposition of grace with sin, Catholic theology often considers grace in relation to nature, and each side, I suggest, has its own characteristic proclivity towards paradox.

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 main question discussed in this paper is: Can we say that, in the light of orthodox Catholic theology, woman is an image of Christ in a way equal to man? How Jesus and His Mother should be treated as examples for imitation for Christians of both sexes on this ground? The first part of the article explains the terms imago Dei and imago Christi, and connection between them in their biblical, dogmatical, and contemporary theological-anthropological context, the last one understood strictly as anthropology in documents of the Catholic Magisterium published during and after II Vatican Council. The second part concerns the problem of Jesus and Mary as models for men, and/or women in the present day, on the basis of Church documents, especially Mariological ones. The third part considers the problem of women as imago Christi in the light of Catholic feminist theology. Conclusions are proposed at the end of the paper.

Wie andere aufgeschlossene Fachvertreter seiner Generation hat der kanadische Jesuit Bernard Lonergan (1904–1984) dazu beigetragen, die katholische Theologie umfassend zu erneuern. Angesichts der offenkundigen Grenzen der Neuscholastik, die sich im Laufe des 19. Jahrhunderts als das Modell durchgesetzt hatte, suchte er schon früh nach einer Alternative. Bei aller Skepsis gegenüber dem herrschenden Thomismus schätzte er Thomas von Aquin in hohem Maß. Das betraf insbesondere dessen Bemühen, die damals aktuellen wissenschaftlichen und methodischen Erkenntnisse einzubeziehen. Lonergan wollte dies ebenso tun. Es ging ihm darum, der katholischen Theologie eine neue Richtung zu geben, also von der Neuscholastik abzurücken. Denn diese berücksichtigte weder das erkennende Subjekt noch das zu erkennende Objekt hinreichend.

The cue for this article is human rationality being the cornerstone in Wentzel van Huyssteen’s thinking, and Alister McGrath’s scepsis about the feasibility of a postfoundational transversality in particular. This article does not intend to juxtapose Van Huyssteen’s postfoundational rationality to McGrath’s enterprise of a ‘rational consilience’ but contends that a transversal approach to rationality engages social ramifications as well. Subsequently, a liberal Catholic theologian’s take on rationality is presented here as such an offering from the social sciences contributes to a bricolage of unintegrated pieces of knowledge and discernments emerging from various disciplinary or social viewpoints on reality. Vito Mancuso continues to focus on human rationality which, in his view, provides humanity with the hope of eternal life or life from the perspective of eternity. Such a conviction is in line with his horizontal understanding of human rationality, in addition to the human being’s first challenge to understanding reality. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The reason d’être of this article is to call for a discussion partner to the notion of human rationality from the social sciences (indicated as one of the neglected fields in the theology and science discourse). Vito Mancuso, for one, brings the pragmatic and transformative (even revolutionary) dimension to the table. A transversal approach to rationality must integrate such social practices as well.

It has been said that little or no Catholic philosophy of education has been articulated since about 1980, suggesting that it has been subsumed under more general philosophical conceptions of education. This implies that there is nothing particularly distinctive about a Catholic conception of education that would enable us to distinguish it from a nonreligious conception of education. There is no doubt that a philosophy of Catholic education shares many of the features of liberal education. The roots of a Catholic philosophy of education are grounded in Catholic theology. That is, the great Mediaeval Christian commentators articulate their conceptions of education and its purposes informed by a Christian theological understanding of the nature of human beings, their relationship to God, and to their common, final end. Without theology to articulate how human knowledge, purpose, and fulfillment are connected, education is incomplete and reduces to training and the gaining of skills for the workforce. It is theology that enables us to understand how training and gaining of skills is connected to the final end of human beings, which is God. A philosophy of education that is Christian cannot be separated from theology.