Overview

Catholicism has always recognized the need for a normative doctrinal teaching authority. Yet the character, scope, and exercise of that authority, what has come to be called the magisterium, has changed significantly over two millennia. This book gathers contributions from leading Catholic scholars in considering new factors that must be taken into account as we consider the church's official teaching authority in today's postmodern context. Noted experts in their fields cover many intriguing topics here, including the investigation of theologians that has occurred in recent years, canonical perspectives on such investigations, the role that women religious have played in these issues, the place of the media when problems arise, and possible future ways forward The book concludes with ""The Elizabeth Johnson Dossier,"" a selection of documents essential to understanding the case of Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, whose work was recently the subject of severe criticism by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.Contributors include Bradford Hinze, James Coriden, Colleen Mallon, Ormond Rush, Gerard Mannion, Anthony Godzieba, Vincent Miller, Richard Gaillardetz, and Elizabeth Johnson.

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9780814680544

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Reviews

These fine essays by major Catholic ecclesiologists shine the bright light of informed common sense upon the vexed question of when and how the teaching authority of the church should insert itself into theological debates. In an age when magisterial oversight is more notable for its insistence on its own prerogatives than it is for its sensitivity to the way doctrine develops, this reasoned and moderate articulation of how it is the responsibility of the whole Church to find the way to fuller possession of God's truth could not be more timely. The concluding section on 'the Elizabeth Johnson affair' stands as a sad exemplar of the distance we still have to travel.Paul Lakeland, Aloysius P. Kelley SJ Professor of Catholic Studies, Director, Center for Catholic Studies, Fairfield University

This impressive collection offers new perspectives on the sometimes testy relationship between theologians and bishops as they exercise their shared responsibility to make the time-honored truth of the Gospel speak anew to every generation. Any reader will be grateful for the editor's inclusion of the central documents concerning the recent controversy surrounding Professor Elizabeth Johnson's book Quest for the Living God. John E. Thiel Professor of Religious Studies President, Catholic Theological Society of America

Author Information

Richard R. Gaillardetz (1958-2023), held the Joseph Chair of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. He published numerous articles and authored or edited twelve books, including An Unfinished Council: Vatican II, Pope Francis, and the Renewal of Catholicism and Keys to the Council: Unlocking the Teaching of Vatican II (co-authored with Catherine Clifford), both published by Liturgical Press. He was a contributor to Give Us This Day. Gaillardetz was a delegate on the US Catholic-Methodist Ecumenical Dialogue and served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America between 2013 and 2014.

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