Ressourcement After Vatican Ii

Beginning with a personal recollection of the achievements of Joseph Fessio, S.J., this work includes twelve essays by theologians who acknowledge a debt to Father Fessio and Ignatius Press. The writers treat a variety of topics including the Church, the liturgy, the interpretation of Scripture, and the development of doctrine, representing the interests of Father Fessio and the books he has published. The essays touch upon the major twentieth-century figures who influenced Father Fessio, such as Hans Urs von Balthasar, Louis Bouyer, Henri de Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger, and Josef Pieper. From its founding by Father Fessio in 1978, Ignatius Press has translated and printed works by these great thinkers and writers in order to make their contributions to the Church available to English-speaking Catholics.

A historical and a theological analysis of the most important movement in twentieth-century Roman Catholic theology.

Ressourcement: A Movement for Renewal in Twentieth-Century Catholic Theology provides both a historical and a theological analysis of the achievements of the renowned generation of theologians whose influence pervaded French theology and society in the period 1930 to 1960, and beyond. It considers how the principal exponents of ressourcement, leading Dominicans and Jesuits of the faculties of Le Saulchoir (Paris) and Lyon-Fourvière, inspired a renaissance in twentieth-century Catholic theology and initiated a movement for renewal that contributed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The book assesses the origins and historical development of the biblical, liturgical, and patristic ressourcement in France, Germany, and Belgium, and offers fresh insights into the thought of the movement's leading scholars. It analyses the fierce controversies that erupted within the Jesuit and Dominican orders and between leading ressourcement theologians and the Vatican. The volume also contributes to the elucidation of the complex question of terminology, the interpretation of which still engenders controversy in discussions of ressourcement and nouvelle théologie. It concludes with reflections on how the most important movement in twentieth-century Roman Catholic theology continues to impact on contemporary society and on Catholic and Protestant theological enquiry in the new millennium.

Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) was the first document promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. The impact of this document was broad and ecumenical—the liturgical reforms approved by the Council reverberated throughout Christendom, impacting the order and experience of worship in Reformed and Orthodox Churches. Unrecognized in most studies, the Orthodox Churches were also active participants in the liturgical movement that gained momentum through the Catholic and Protestant Churches in the twentieth century. This study examines Orthodox liturgical reform after Vatican II through the lens of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue. After establishing the retrieval of the priesthood of the laity and active liturgical participation as the rationales for liturgical reform, the study presents the history of liturgical reform through four models: the liturgical reforms of Alexander Schmemann; the alternative liturgical center in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR); the symposia on liturgical rebirth authorized by the Church of Greece; and the renewed liturgy of New Skete Monastery. Following a discussion of the main features of liturgical reform, catechesis, ars celebrandi, and the role of the clergy, Denysenko concludes with suggestions for implementing liturgical reform in the challenges of postmodernity and in fidelity to the contributions of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue.

Henri de Lubac, SJ, (1896-1991) is one of the most renowned theologians of the twentieth century. Numerous studies have been undertaken to examine his many contributions to theology, but little attention has been paid to the specific topic of the relationship of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church in his writings. This was a topic that gave rise to contentious discussion at the Second Vatican Council, and although the Council fathers approved the integration of Marian doctrine into the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, this synthesis of Mariology and ecclesiology has been largely neglected in theology today. The Splendor of the Church in Mary retrieves de Lubac's Marian ecclesiology and revives an understanding and appreciation of its enduring influence at the Vatican Council and beyond. The first part examines de Lubac's pre-conciliar works which evince a steady biblical and patristic ressourcement of Marian themes. It also explores his writings on Teilhard de Chardin's Eternal Feminine, Christian mysticism, and Amida Buddhism and discovers in them the essential building blocks of his Marian thought. The second part turns to the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar developments. Rereading the debates and texts of Lumen Gentium through a Marian lens brings to light the extent of de Lubac's influence: Méditation sur l'Eglise (1953), his principal work on Mary and the Church, anticipated the structure and content of Lumen Gentium a decade before the Council. De Lubac's writings provided a theological compass for the Council fathers, and they continue to provide direction and orientation for ecclesiological discourse today. The Splendor of the Church in Mary culminates in a constructive analysis of one of the most pressing pastoral and ecclesiological questions of our times: the question of the relationship of the universal and particular churches. Directly engaging the crucial debate between then-Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Kasper, it proposes that de Lubac's Mariology effectively offers a new perspective and a refreshing path forward. Attentive to the mystical identification of Mary and the Church, de Lubac's ressourcement has the potential to re-enchant and advance contemporary theology in new and significant ways.

During four years in session, Vatican Council II held television audiences rapt with its elegant, magnificently choreographed public ceremonies, while its debates generated front-page news on a near-weekly basis. By virtually any assessment, it was the most important religious event of the twentieth century, with repercussions that reached far beyond the Catholic church. Remarkably enough, this is the first book, solidly based on official documentation, to give a brief, readable account of the council from the moment Pope John XXIII announced it on January 25, 1959, until its conclusion on December 8, 1965; and to locate the issues that emerge in this narrative in their contexts, large and small, historical and theological, thereby providing keys for grasping what the council hoped to accomplish. What Happened at Vatican II captures the drama of the council, depicting the colorful characters involved and their clashes with one another. The book also offers a new set of interpretive categories for understanding the council’s dynamics—categories that move beyond the tired “progressive” and “conservative” labels. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the calling of the council, this work reveals in a new way the spirit of Vatican II. A reliable, even-handed introduction to the council, the book is a critical resource for understanding the Catholic church today, including the pontificate of Benedict XVI.

In this magisterial volume Charles E. Curran surveys the historical development of Catholic moral theology in the United States from its 19th century roots to the present day. He begins by tracing the development of pre-Vatican II moral theology that, with the exception of social ethics, had the limited purpose of training future confessors to know what actions are sinful and the degree of sinfulness. Curran then explores and illuminates the post-Vatican II era with chapters on the effect of the Council on the scope and substance of moral theology, the impact of Humanae vitae, Pope Paul VI's encyclical condemning artificial contraception, fundamental moral theology, sexuality and marriage, bioethics, and social ethics. Curran's perspective is unique: For nearly 50 years, he has been a major influence on the development of the field and has witnessed first-hand the dramatic increase in the number and diversity of moral theologians in the academy and the Church. No one is more qualified to write this first and only comprehensive history of Catholic moral theology in the United States.