The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of synodality and charisms in
Catholic teaching from a Pentecostal perspective. Although a consideration of the
charisms is implied in the discussion on synodality in Catholic documents, there
exists no comprehensive theology of the nature and function of charisms in their
contribution to the synodal journey. A critical identification of the role of charisms,
specifically in conversation with the role of hierarchical gifts, and brought into
dialogue with the new charismatic movements and communities within Catholicism
and Pentecostal Christianity, reveals an imbalance in the exercise of hierarchical and
charismatic gifts in the church that presents a foundational problem for the future of
synodality

Focusing on the Christian side, the author applies Bernard Lonergan’s three-fold structure of progress, decline, and redemption to Christian-Muslim history. The author identifies moments of each vector in the wider history—Arab-Christian apologetics (progress), demonization of Islam (decline), nonviolent witnesses (redemption). The author then highlights a twentieth-century example of development-progress and redemption, namely the cumulative insights of Charles de Foucauld, Louis Massignon, and Christian de Chergé, which led to and built upon the Vatican II statements about Muslims-Islam.

Signs of the times are best understood as significant historical transitions, motivated by social goods, which the church must discern and respond to in the light of the Gospel. The argument proceeds in three steps. First, Charles Taylor’s interpretive understanding of historical transitions is expounded. Second, Chenu’s and Vatican II’s understandings of the signs of the times are examined, and Taylor’s approach to historical transitions is applied to Chenu’s and Vatican II’s central insights about signs of the times. The third section considers the movement for gender equality as an example of a sign of the times.

Large-scale and widespread social and ecclesial upheaval results in the experience of “dislocation,” a feeling of homelessness flowing from the loss of certainty and stability. This article considers how dislocation might provide an opening to creativity and hope, especially in the life of the ecclesial community. Synodality can be an instance of such creativity and hope, even though, paradoxically, synodality itself can be a catalyst for dislocation. To make its case for synodality, the article highlights the church’s eschatological orientation, its graced pilgrimage of faith.

This article traces the development of Catholic ecological hermeneutics over fifty years, leading to Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015). Analyzing key church statements, it reveals the expanding biblical sources used and efforts to reinterpret them. The interdisciplinary nature of sustainability and Christian churches’ involvement in academic, ecumenical, and interreligious fora have driven this “hermeneutical effort.” Although not critically examining difficult passages or revising Scripture systematically, Catholic ecotheological reflection has integrated multiple sources into a fruitful dialogue with the Bible, contributing significantly to sustainability. This study underscores the evolution of Christian social thought, emphasizing its capacity to update biblical insights and adapt Catholic Social Teaching for public theology.