The drastic economy of biblical narrative style is not simply to be equated with an absence of style but rather represents a distinctive narrative poetics, which turns in particular on the opaqueness of characters’ inner lives and thus on the essential ambiguity of character motivation. Such practical criticism, by rigorously lingering over the details and

The 13th century, the age of universities and cathedrals, was a time when Europeans journeyed to unknown realms and encountered different religions. It was also the age of Crusades. William of Tripoli spent his life and ministry in the world around Acre in the Latin Kingdom, a crossroads for art, trade, and contacts between Christians

Early Modern theologians Francisco de Vitoria and Leonardus Lessius analyzed the nature and limits of the obligation to preserve one’s life through the use of food. Vitoria described the ethical foundations of and the circumstances that might limit such an obligation, while Lessius argued for a virtuous approach to nutrition that eschewed both indifference and

By reviewing the unique characteristics of the Byzantine feast of Mary’s Birth, the article articulates the feast’s significance as an integral contributor to the salvation of humankind. The article first traces the historical emergence of Mariology to establish trends in Marian soteriology, then analyzes the liturgical contents of the feast to project a theological thesis.

The author finds resonance between the hitherto largely unrelated discourses of spirituality and citizenship. Drawing on Rahner’s transcendental anthropology and Moltmann’s sacramental theology of history, he proposes a spirituality that emphasizes the anonymous action of the Holy Spirit within a strong Christology. This proposal embraces the Social Quality model of citizenship and integrates Chantal Mouffe’s

Scholars are currently giving serious thought to Thomas Aquinas’s theology of religions. This fact led the author to explore the connection between Aquinas’s thought on the subject and that of the Neo-Thomists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Starting from the analysis of textbooks, he illuminates the structure of the theology of religions that characterized

The author argues that the Catholic Church’s social teaching is marked by a critical view of the ideology of Enlightenment Liberalism and of the concept of free market economy when taken as the guiding mechanism of free modern society. Since the great divorce between throne and altar with the French Revolution, the Church’s opposition to

Christian reflection on the morality of anger must address Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:22: “whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” One interpretation of this passage found in the Christian tradition relies on what is called here the “person/sin distinction”: anger at persons is sinful, while anger at sin is permissible.

The article argues for the development of Catholic social teaching on freedom of the press. After examining the press’s role in the recent sexual abuse scandal in the Church in the United States, the author reviews this role in light of current Catholic social teaching on the press. Finally, he examines the challenges of a