Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988-2007 / Edition 3

by Avery Cardinal Dulles, Rev. Robert P. Imbelli

Overview

One of the leading theologians of our time, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., has written and lectured on a wide range of topics across his distinguished career, and for a wide range of audiences. Integrating faith and scholarship, he has created a rich body of work that, in the words of one observer, is both faithful to Catholic tradition and fresh in its engagement with the contemporary world. Here, brought together for the first time in one volume, are the talks Cardinal Dulles has given twice each year since the Laurence J. McGinley Lectures were initiated in 1988, conceived broadly as a forum on Church and society. The result is a diverse collection that reflects the breadth of his thinking and engages with many of the most important-and difficult-religious issues of our day.Organized chronologically, the lectures are often responses to timely issues, such as the relationship between religion and politics, a topic he treated in the last weeks of the presidential campaign of 1992. Other lectures take up questions surrounding human rights, faith and evolution, forgiveness, the death penalty, the doctrine of religious freedom, the population of hell, and a whole array of theological subjects, many of which intersect with culture and politics. The life of the Church is a major and welcome focus of the lectures, whether they be a reflection on Cardinal Newman or an exploration of the difficulties of interfaith dialogue. Dulles responds frequently to initiatives of the Holy See, discussing gender and priesthood in the context of church teaching, and Pope Benedict's interpretation of Vatican II. Writing with clarity and conviction, Cardinal Dulles seeks to render the wisdom of past ages applicable to the world in which we live.For those seeking to share in this wisdom, this book will be a consistently rewarding guide to what it means to be Catholic-indeed, to be a person of any faith-in a world of rapid, relentless change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823228621
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Edition description:	3
Pages:	546
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

AVERY CARDINAL DULLES, S.J., is the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University, a position he has held since 1988. Ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus in 1956, he was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001, the first American-born theologian not a bishop to receive this honor. The author of more than 800 articles, Cardinal Dulles is also the author of 23 books, including Models of the Church, Testimonial to Grace, and a revised edition of his classic History of Apologetics.

REV. ROBERT P. IMBELLI is Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College and editor of Handing on the Faith: the Church's Mission and Challenge.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Robert Peter Imbelli     ix
Preface     xxi
Abbreviations     xxv
University Theology as a Service to the Church Fall 1988     1
Teaching Authority in the Church Spring 1989     16
Catholicism and American Culture: The Uneasy Dialogue Fall 1989     27
Faith and Experience: Strangers? Rivals? Partners? Spring 1990     43
Newman, Conversion, and Ecumenism Fall 1990     51
The Uses of Scripture in Theology Spring 1991     68
John Paul II and the New Evangelization Fall 1991     87
Historical Method and the Reality of Christ Spring 1992     103
Religion and the Transformation of Politics Fall 1992     116
The Church as Communion Spring 1993     129
The Prophetic Humanism of John Paul II Fall 1993     142
The Challenge of the Catechism Fall 1994     157
Crucified for Our Sake: Love, Violence, and Sacrifice Spring 1995     175
John Paul II and the Advent of the New Millennium Fall 1995     191
Priesthood and Gender Spring 1996     205
The Travails of Dialogue Fall 1996     221
The Ignatian Tradition and Contemporary Theology Spring 1997     234
Mary at the Dawn of the New Millennium Fall 1997     248
Should the Church Repent? Spring 1998     262
Human Rights: The United Nations and Papal Teaching Fall 1998     276
Can Philosophy Be Christian? The New State of the Question Spring 1999     291
Justification Today: A New Ecumenical Breakthrough Fall 1999     306
The Papacy for a Global Church Spring 2000     318
The Death Penalty: A Right-to-Life Issue? Fall 2000     332
Religious Freedom: A Developing Doctrine Spring 2001     348
Christ Among the Religions Fall 2001     360
When to Forgive Spring 2002     373
The Population of Hell Fall 2002     387
True and False Reform in the Church Spring 2003     401
John Paul II and the Mystery of the Human Person Fall 2003     414
The Rebirth of Apologetics Spring 2004     430
A Eucharistic Church: The Vision of John Paul II Fall 2004     443
How Real Is the Real Presence? Spring 2005     455
Benedict XVI: Interpreter of Vatican II Fall 2005     468
The Mission of the Laity Spring 2006     485
The Ignatian Charism at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Fall 2006     497
Evolution, Atheism, and Religious Belief Spring 2007     509
Who Can Be Saved? Fall 2007     522
McGinley Lectures Previously Published     535
Index     539

Editorial Reviews

In this collection, the late, great theologian takes up important social and political questions (including the death penalty and the nature of human rights), explicates the thought of Popes John Paull II and Benedict XVI, and treats sacramental, ecumenical, and interreligious issues with deep insight.—George Weigel, Long Island Catholic

". . . testifies to the wide-ranging erudition and boundless curiosity that characterizes the work of America's greatest Catholic intellectual."—The Thomist

". . . This volume, which is a collection of the biannual public lectures he gave during this time, provides a unique and comprehensive overview of his life work and interests."—The Australasian Catholic Record

"The lectures are arranged chronologically and treat such subjects as religion and politics, human rights, fith and evolution, forgiveness, the death penalty, religious freedom and the population of hell."—W. Charles Heiser, Theology Digest

"Dulles is a master at clarifying theological issues in terms of distinct, if overlapping, categories, tendencies, schools and, yes, models."—The Catholic World

"Clearly written, carefully balanced, rich in categories, models, and distinctions, and ever attentive to the tradition."—Commonweal

" . . . Dulles evinces clarity of thought and expression, attentiveness to subtle but important distinctions, command of tradition, dispassion and a willingness to engage the strongest objections to his arguments."—America

" A splendid achievement. . ."—First Things

From the Publisher

. . . testifies to the wide-ranging erudition and boundless curiosity that characterizes the work of America's greatest Catholic intellectual.

The Thomist

The lectures are arranged chronologically and treat such subjects as religion and politics, human rights, fith and evolution, forgiveness, the death penalty, religious freedom and the population of hell.

Theology Digest

. . . Dulles evinces clarity of thought and expression, attentiveness to subtle but important distinctions, command of tradition, dispassion and a willingness to engage the strongest objections to his arguments.

America

. . . This volume, which is a collection of the biannual public lectures he gave during this time, provides a unique and comprehensive overview of his life work and interests.

The Australasian Catholic Record

Dulles is a master at clarifying theological issues in terms of distinct, if overlapping, categories, tendencies, schools and, yes, models.

The Catholic World

Clearly written, carefully balanced, rich in categories, models, and distinctions, and ever attentive to the tradition.

Commonweal

A splendid achievement. . .

First Things

In this collection, the late, great theologian takes up important social and political questions (including the death penalty and the nature of human rights), explicates the thought of Popes John Paull II and Benedict XVI, and treats sacramental, ecumenical, and iinterreligious issues with deep insight.

Long Island Catholic

. . . Dulles evinces clarity of thought and expression, attentiveness to subtle but important distinctions, command of tradition, dispassion and a willingness to engage the strongest objections to his arguments.

America

Cardinal Dulles’s finely tuned mind and broad historical erudition prove again how theology in the hands of a master illuminates current debates in Church, State, and Society. Because they touch theology’s perennial themes, these essays, ranging over a wide horizon, remain fresh and worth rereading. Written in a clear, straightforward style accessible to all, they draw on the wisdom of the Church’s millennial tradition to offer an attractive vision of the Christian mystery in its multifaceted aspects. Like Newman, on whom the purple previously descended, Dulles speaks to our age and to all who will seek wisdom in ages to come.

John M. McDermott