Past Book Reviews

[The author first examines the application of the qualificatio theologica or theological norm as an aid to doctrinal interpretation in Catholic neo-Scholastic theology. He then ...

Eucharistic Sharing: Revising the Question

Jeffrey Vanderwilt December 1, 2002

[The author provides a brief examination of Roman Catholic norms for sharing communion with non-Catholic Christians. He then discusses three areas of concern with respect ...

The Ordinary Universal Magisterium: Unresolved Questions

Richard R. Gaillardetz September 1, 2002

[The conviction that the common teaching of the bishops was a sure guide for Christian faith goes back to the earliest centuries. In the decades ...

The Teaching Authority of Episcopal Conferences

Francis A. Sullivan S.J. September 1, 2002

[Pope John Paul II in Apostolos suos has decreed that doctrinal statements to be issued by episcopal conferences either must have been approved unanimously, or, ...

Salvation and Liberation in the Practical-Critical Soteriology of Schillebeeckx

Derek J. Simon September 1, 2002

[The practical-critical soteriology of Schillebeeckx understands and orients the experience of salvation in relation to liberating political praxis and social emancipation. Practical-critical soteriology develops the ...

Lonergan’s Contribution to Ecumenism

Catherine E. Clifford September 1, 2002

[The author suggests that the reception of ecumenical consensus is related to an adequate appreciation of theological method. The functional approach outlined in Bernard Lonergan’s ...

Recovering the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Moral Theology

Charles E. Bouchard O.P. September 1, 2002

[The gifts of the Holy Spirit played a major role in the moral theology of Thomas Aquinas. For a variety of theological and ecclesial reasons, ...

Heritage and Discovery: A Framework for Moral Theology

Cynthia S. W. Crysdale September 1, 2002

[In an effort to clarify foundational categories for moral theology, the author explores several polarities that have often been woven into discussions of moral formation. ...

Christ’s Salvific Message and the Nandi Ritual of Female Circumcision

Mary Nyangweso September 1, 2002

[Female initiation rite is one of the many traditional practices found in some African communities. The many rituals during this time of initiation include female ...

The Ratzinger/Kasper Debate: The Universal Church and Local Churches

Kilian McDonnell O.S.B. May 1, 2002

[The discussions between Joseph Ratzinger and Walter Kasper on the relationship between the universal Church and the local/particular churches touch on one of today’s major ...

The Theological Hermeneutics of Edward Schillebeeckx

Dennis Rochford M.S.C. May 1, 2002

[The theological hermeneutics of Edward Schillebeeckx facilitated a reflection on Christology tied to the notion of “experience.” This allowed Schillebeeckx to interpret the experience of ...

Flannery O’Connor’s Use of Symbol Roger Haight’s Christology and the Religious Writer

Lucretia B. Yaghjian May 1, 2002

[The author argues that Flannery O’Connor’s fiction and critical prose are informed by a theological understanding of symbol, a narrative Christology from below, and a ...

Postcolonial African Theology in Kabasele Lumbala

Mario I. Aguilar May 1, 2002

[The author examines various trends and methodological developments in African Christian theology, particularly processes of “ordering” and subsequently “disordering” as a particularly African theological method. ...

Toward Global Ethics

Lisa Sowle Cahill May 1, 2002

[Several earlier essays in this journal have explored questions such as whether it is possible to speak of intercultural dialogue about the common good in ...

The Exodus in the Christian Bible: The Case for ‘Figural’ Reading

Richard J. Clifford, S.J. May 1, 2002

[Many Christians find the Christian Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testament, diffuse, lacking unity, and therefore difficult to use in systematic theology. Yet ...

Images of God within Systematic Theology

Joseph A. Bracken S.J. May 1, 2002

[While respecting the freedom of expression inherent in Sally McFague’s notion of “metaphorical theology,” the author argues that the choice of a single governing image ...

On Contemporary Martyrs: Some Recent Literature

Lawrence S. Cunningham May 1, 2002

[This brief ongoing survey reviews some current literature on martyrs with special emphasis on those who have died for the faith in our own time. ...

Authority in the Church

Bernard Hoose February 1, 2002

[In section one of Notes on Moral Theology the author shows how a number of writers have argued that the weight of magisterial authority varies ...

Moral Theology in Latin America

Dean Brackley S.J. February 1, 2002

[Over the past several years, Latin American moral theology, in which liberation theology and its ethics play a prominent role, has been creatively developing its ...

Structure of a Systematic Ecclesiology

Neil Ormerod February 1, 2002

[Drawing on the classical understanding of theology as faith seeking understanding, the author explores the structure of a systematic ecclesiology, arguing that such a theology ...