The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI: The Christocentric Shift

by Kenneth A. Loparo

Overview

Many refer to Pope Benedict XVI as "the Mozart of Theology." Who are the thinkers who have informed his theology? What events, and which religious devotions, have shaped his personality? This study attempts to shed light on the unifying melody of the policies and positions of a pontificate charged with spiritual and theological depth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230105409
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	05/10/2011
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	365
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Fr. Father Emery de Gaál is Chairman and Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Mundelein Seminary, USA

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xvii

Abbreviations xix

Introduction: The Christocentric Shift 1

Part I Establishing the Christocentric Vision

1 Highlights of a Lifelong Ministry 9

2 Personality and Temperament 13

3 Formative Early Encounters as a Seminarian: Personal Existentialism Grounded in Jesus Christ 21

4 Graduate Studies in Munich 33

5 His Language and Style 45

6 Academic Teacher: Truth as Person 49

7 Pastor to "Radical Christians": The Catholic Integrated Community 53

Part II Jesus Christ: God's Self-Disclosure

8 The Beginnings of His Theology 61

9 The Inaugural Lecture in 1959 73

10 Jesus Christ, the Sovereign, Unsurpassable Revealer of Revelation 79

11 The Question of Faith in the World 107

12 The Unity of the Old and New Testaments 111

13 The Biblical Basis of Christology 119

14 A Twentieth-Century Classic: Introduction to Christianity 129

15 Christ and the Pursuit of Happiness: Safeguarding the Nondisponibility of Christ 145

Part III The Church: The Christ-Filled Realm

16 Communio: Christian Brotherhood and the Church as One Reality 165

17 Christ and the Church 175

18 Christ and Ecumenical Dialogue 189

19 An Ecclesiological Dispute at the Turn of the Millennium 199

20 Jesus Christ as the Unifying Ecclesial Reality 209

Part IV Being Christ to Others

21 Christ and Freedom: Evangelization 217

22 Christian Brotherhood: Entering into Jesus Christ's Earthly Ineffability 231

Part V The Liturgy: Christ-Filled Worship

23 The Transparency of Christ and Christians: The Liturgy 239

24 Regensburg: Provocation or Jesus Christ as the Basis for Civilized Discourse? Jesus Christ as the Reconciler of Faith and Reason 269

25 Jesus Christ, the Definer and Personification of the Eschaton 275

26 Mary: In Christ, the First Free Human Being 287

Epilogue Jesus Christ Offering the World Identity and Meaning 297

Notes 303

Bibliography 345

Index 357

Editorial Reviews

"Pope Benedict XVI's theological work and his pastoral and spiritual writings are here placed in the perspective of the mystery of Christ. Father Emery de Gaál has beautifully and exhaustively clarified the fundamental interpretative key to the Ratzinger texts and to the life of Pope Benedict XVI." - Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago

"He was already one of the most important theologians of the past century before his election to the papacy as Benedict XVI in this century. But now Joseph Ratzinger must count as perhaps the most important postconciliar theologian, bar none. de Gaál gives us the most comprehensive study of the pope's theology now available. But even more, he places the pope's thought in the context of the revolution in Catholic theology that started well before Vatican II and has continued on to this day: the revolution that abandoned neoscholasticism and shifted its focus to Christology. That story is indeed a dramatic one, and here it is dramatically and comprehensively told. This book is a 'must purchase' for every theological library - and for all admirers of that perhaps greatest of great theologians, Joseph Ratzinger." - Fr. Edward T. Oakes, S. J., Chester & Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary

"Father de Gaál's work is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the Chrisentric shift in the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI and in contemporary theological anthropology generally. It is the deepest analysis of the topic currently available." - Tracey Rowland, Professor and Dean, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, Australia

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