Living Catholic Faith In A Contentious Age

Catholics, especially in the U.S., are sharply divided over what constitutes faithful Catholicism: a quest for the relevance of their faith to the actualities of their lives or unquestioning obedience to the precepts of Church leadership. Tension over these questions goes to such extremes that it has drastically reduced church-going and identification of Catholics with the institution within a remarkable brief period of time. Writing in sharp, accessible language, Helmick attempts to focus these issues on the nature of faith. To do so involves exploring the task of theologians, who are in the first line of attack by those who see submissiveness as criterion of fidelity. He balances this with a study of the nature of orthodoxy, still concentrated especially on theologians and those Catholics who want to read and discuss relevant material on living their faith in the real world. The early chapters take these themes - faith, theologians, orthodoxy - in turn. From there the remaining chapters describe the contentious character of our current life in the Church and the critical questions-facing up to wedge issues in the political realm, dealing with the long-running sexual abuse crisis, the flagging ecumenical front and the fundamental task of reconciliation as mission of the Church.

Catholics, especially in the U.S., are sharply divided over what constitutes faithful Catholicism: a quest for the relevance of their faith to the actualities of their lives or unquestioning obedience to the precepts of Church leadership. Tension over these questions goes to such extremes that it has drastically reduced church-going and identification of Catholics with the institution within a remarkable brief period of time. Writing in sharp, accessible language, Helmick attempts to focus these issues on the nature of faith. To do so involves exploring the task of theologians, who are in the first line of attack by those who see submissiveness as criterion of fidelity.

The Catholic Church in the United States and Europe has seen declining numbers both in regular attendance and in clergy and religious life.Scandals have torn at people's allegiance, and feelings of disappointment, disillusion, and anger have become widespread. Church authorities have seemed reluctant to acknowledge or address these problems and have responded with vexation to those who raise them from the Right or Left. The Crisis of Confidence in the Catholic Church examines the roots of this crisis in light of the nature of the Church community, its institutional structure, and the historical experiences that have brought it to this pass. Raymond Helmick, SJ, traces the problems of the Catholic Church far back in its history - concentration of Church leadership on control of the Christian population, a requirement of obedience to their rulings rather than on the Gospel values of Jesus, the defensiveness and self-righteousness in the face of any criticism. Helmick also emphasizes the role of the Second Vatican Council as it brought the Church to an awareness of its potentiality for an active life of faith by its total membership. How will the Church revive? Helmick believes that a new growth of Christianity can come now only by a return to the love and care of its original premises, to the things that are redolent of the life of Jesus. The 'new evangelization' can only be done by living a Christian life, giving an example.

The topics examined in this book include the development of 'virtue morality' and its practice in today's Catholic Church; tensions between local churches and the universal church; and the celebration of the liturgy and the sacraments.

In November 2010, three hundred faculty, students, and others interested in Christian mission gathered in Boston to consider how the world, the global church, and Christian missions have changed since the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 and to reflect on the three previous centennial conferences (Tokyo 2010 in May, Edinburgh 2010 in June, and Cape Town 2010 in October). Participants at "2010Boston" were not delegates from churches and mission agencies, but were students and scholars of various aspects of world Christianity representing the Anglican/Episcopal, Evangelical, mainline Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic traditions. This conference volume consists of nine keynote messages, five student presentations, three reports from the other conferences, and additional materials from or about 2010Boston. The keynote messages address the history of mission (especially in and from Boston) and the current global context for mission, and suggest modes for future Christian engagement with the world and one another. Student papers address such conference themes as unity in mission, mission and postcolonialism, and discipleship in context. The closing chapter surveys the conference's eight themes and summarizes the outcomes of the 2010Boston process.

In this age of growing divisions within the Church and society, we need reconciliation and healing now more than ever. Healing GodÆs People brings together the thought of these theologians and pastors: Francine Cardman, M. Shawn Copeland, Frank Desiderio, CSP, Kate Dooley, OP, Peter Fink, SJ, Raymond G. Helmick, SJ, Thomas A. Kane, CSP, Melissa M. Kelley, Michael McGarry, CSP, Hoffsman Ospino, Rodney L. Petersen, Thomas W. Porter, Thomas P. Ryan, CSP, Robert J. Schreiter, CPPS, Thomas Stegman, SJ, The fruit of two conferences held at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in 2009 and 2011, this collection of essays aims to introduce the reader to the complexity of the issues and suggest practical pastoral responses. Book jacket.

Integrated Peacebuilding addresses the importance of weaving peacebuilding methods into diverse sectors including development, humanitarian assistance, gender, business, media, health, and the environment - areas where such work is needed the most. Incorporating peacebuilding approaches in these fields is critical for transforming today's protracted conflicts into tomorrow's sustainable peace. Covering both theory and practice, Dr. Zelizer and his team of leading academics and practitioners present original essays discussing the infrastructure of the peacebuilding field (outlining key actors, donors, and underlying motivations) as well as the ethical dilemmas created by modern conflict. Exploring both the challenges and lessons to be found in this emerging field, Integrated Peacebuilding is perfect for courses on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, international development, and related fields.

The "culture story" of evangelicalism during the second half of the twentieth century has been well told. It is important now to think about the theological mission of the church in an ever-increasing post-Christian and post-partisan context. What is the theologian's calling at the beginning of the third millennium? How do global realities impact the mission of evangelical theology? What sense can be made of the unity of evangelical theology in light of its many diverse voices? Contributors: Os Guinness, Michael S. Horton, Richard Lints, Bruce McCormack, Mark Noll, J. I. Packer, Gary Parrett, Rodney Peterson, Cornelius Plantinga, Tite Tienou, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Adonis Vidu and Miroslav Volf.