[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 Method in Theology provides a framework for reflecting on the role of ecumenical consensus statements and their relation to diverse expressions of the apostolic faith in the past, present, and

[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, they were largely ignored after the Council of Trent. A review of theological and literary interest in the gifts in the first half of the 20th century shows that they

[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. The first issue she addresses concerns the roles of socialization and autonomy, tradition and innovation, “heritage” and “discovery” in moral development. These principles of change are seen to be complementary

[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 circumcision/female genital mutilation, a socially justified mark of maturation, dramatizing the break with childhood and incorporation into adulthood. This practice has received much criticism because of sexist, health, and human

[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 theological and pastoral issues. If the universal Church is ontologically and temporally prior to the local church, then how is the local church fully Church, and how are bishops truly

[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 salvation in Christ from one cultural milieu to the next. However, the overall experiment in Christology failed to acknowledge the limitations, especially for today, imposed by his reliance on frameworks

[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 consciousness of her task as a religious writer of modernity. This places her work in mutually constructive conversation with the writing of postmodern Christology, represented, for instance, by Roger Haight’s

[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. His framework suggests that colonialists and theologians shared a common purpose, namely ordering, and as a result, theology and colonialism developed related methodologies of ordering knowledge. In the postcolonial era

[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 an era of globalization, or whether one can even seek a “global ethics.” These questions are more poignant and critical since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The author

[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 the Bible itself uses a powerful organizing principle that spans both testaments and unites them, namely the Exodus in its dual aspects of liberation and formation. There are three Exodus