Although interest in the theology of Karl Barth is greater today than at any time since his death, Barth's moral thought continues to be widely misunderstood. This groundbreaking study of the twentieth-century's most important Christian thinker offers the first treatment of Barth's ethics from a Roman Catholic perspective. Focusing particularly on Barth's 'ethics of creation' in the Church Dogmatics, Rose reclaims Barth from a number of misinterpretations and presents Barth's account of the good life within his distinctively Christian metaphysics. Among the most provocative of Rose's claims is that Barth sees the Christian life as guided by reason and nature, an interpretation that finds Barth in conversation with ancient and medieval ethical theories about the nature of human happiness. A significant contribution to Barth studies and current debates in contemporary Christian theology, Ethics with Barth sheds valuable light on the connection between metaphysics and ethics, the trinitarian dimensions of Christian moral thought, the nature of the divine good, the role of Christian philosophy, Barth's conception of moral reasoning, and his views on eudaimonism and the natural law.

This Catechism retains the text of the Revised Baltimore Catechism, Number 2, but adds abundant explanations to help children understand the difficult parts of each lesson along with pictures to aid in understanding. Intended for grades 6-8.

It is well known that Henri de Lubac's groundbreaking and highly controversial work on nature and grace had important implications for the Church's relationship to culture and was intended to remove a philosophical obstacle hindering Catholicism's faithful engagement with the secular world. This book addresses a too-often neglected dimension of de Lubac's theological renewal by examining the centrality and indispensability of spiritual exegesis in his oeuvre and making explicit its social and political signi cance for the Church's worship and witness. In addition to exploring the historical and ecclesial context within which he worked, this book brings de Lubac into a critical engagement with the more recent theological movements of post-liberalism and radical orthodoxy in order to demonstrate the enduring signi cance of his theological vision. Bryan C. Hollon is Assistant Professor of Theology at Malone College in Canton, Ohio. "Hollon offers the best introduction to date on de Lubac's spiritual interpretation of Scripture. His bold recovery of Henri de Lubac's participatory hermeneutic offers an excellent contribution to the rapidly growing scholarship on the French Catholic theologian. The book argues for a hermeneutic that avoids the dual trap of isolating Jesus' biblical identity from the life of the Church (the post-liberal tendency) and of reducing Christology to ecclesiology (the fallacy of Radical Orthodoxy). Hollon convincingly argues that the Church's ontological participation in Christ is mediated through the practice of spiritual interpretation along the lines advocated by de Lubac. The result is both an incisive, sympathetic-critical engagement with contemporary hermeneutics and a superb introduction to one of the central concerns of de Lubac." - HANS BOERSMA, Author of 'Nouvelle theologie' and 'Sacramental Ontology'.

Giving the Holy Souls in Purgatory an indulgence is "the highest act of supernatural charity, " says Pope John Paul II. What better way to pray for them than by adapting the Rosary?

Filling an important gap in the historiography of Victorian Britain, this book examines the English Catholic Church's efforts during the second half of the nineteenth century to provide elementary education for Catholics.

Inspired by Jesus' prayer, his disciples asked him, `Lord, teach us to pray' (Luke 11.1). This book gives many time-honoured answers to that request. There is a wealth here of fresh ways to pray, such as using nature and dreams as inspiration and getting in touch with one's emotions. Key topics such as distractions, dryness and doubt, as well as joy and finding God in all things, are covered. The Church's tradition, from the Our Father to the Eucharist, the saints and pilgrimages, is offered as a resource for the individual. `God meets you where you are. And the fact that you are holding this book in your hand means you are already open to that encounter.' From the Introduction

Indigenous Symbols and Practices in the Catholic Church presents views, concepts and perspectives on the relationships among Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church, as well as stories, images and art as metaphors for survival in a contemporary world. Few studies present such interdisciplinary interpretations from contributors in multiple disciplines regarding appropriation, spiritual and religious tradition, educational issues in the teaching of art and art history, the effects of government sanctions on traditional practice, or the artistic interpretation of symbols from Indigenous perspectives. Through photographs and visual materials, interviews and data analysis, personal narratives and stories, these chapters explore the experiences of Indigenous Peoples whose lives have been impacted by multiple forces - Christian missionaries, governmental policies, immigration and colonization, education, assimilation and acculturation. Contributors investigate current contexts and complex areas of conflict regarding missionization, appropriation and colonizing practices through asking questions such as, 'What does the use of images mean for resistance, transformation and cultural destruction?' And, 'What new interpretations and perspectives are necessary for Indigenous traditions to survive and flourish in the future?'

Contemporary western Paganism is now a global religious phenomenon with Pagans in many parts of the world sharing much in common - from a nature-revering worldview and lifestyle to a host of chants, invocations, ritual tools and magical practices. But there are also locally-specific differences. Local religious contexts, landscapes, histories, traditions, politics, values and norms all impact on local Paganisms. This is nowhere more evident than in a strongly Catholic society, where religion and culture are deeply entwined. Taking the Mediterranean society of Malta as a case study, this book invites readers inside the world of a small, hidden sub-culture. Showing what it is like being Pagan in a society where the vast majority of the population is Roman Catholic, and Catholicism permeates every sphere of public and domestic, social and political life, Rountree reveals that Paganism here is a unique brew of indigenous and global influences. Pagans employ both creativity and borrowing in constructing identities within a cultural context characterized by antagonism as well as continuity. This book explores the intersections of religious and cultural identity, the global and local, Paganism and Christianity, with insights grounded in rich ethnographic detail based on long-term fieldwork. Rountree makes invaluable comparisons with other studies of modern Pagans and their various worlds.

In May 1998, John Joseph, the first native Pakistani Catholic bishop, shot himself in front of the courthouse where a Christian had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. This book tells the story of the Christians in Pakistan, with Bishop Joseph as its centrepiece. It is an account of outcastes who sought hope through Christianity, but who now find themselves victims of a struggle to define Islam in Pakistan. The majority of Pakistani Christians are descendants of untouchables converted to Christianity in the late 19th century. In Pakistan a minority religion is linked with low status, perpetuating the Indian Hindu caste system even though the Muslim majority has disassociated itself from all things Hindu and Indian. The book also deals with enculturation in the Pakistani church, the rise of native clergy, conflicts between the local church and Rome, the rise of 'fundamentalist' Islam and the position of women in society and church.

Originally published in 1988, this title looks at the importance of the Catholic school in American education from 1830 to 1980. The articles in this collection illuminate the patterns of development. The most prevalent theme is that of school controversy, involving either Catholic conflict with public education and the wider culture on the one hand, or internal dissension within the Catholic community regarding the desirability of separate schools on the other. Taken together, these essays serve as pieces of a mosaic, interesting in themselves yet corporately providing a comprehensive picture of the history of Catholic schooling in America. They remind us that these institutions grew up as a response to particular forces at work in the wider society as well as within the Catholic community itself.

Three churches have recently produced liturgies for 'extended communion'. This is the distribution of previously consecrated elements at a public service by lay people or a deacon in the absence of a priest. This development began in the Roman Catholic Church with the Vatican 'Directory on Sunday Worship in the absence of a priest' in 1988. The Methodist Church produced a service of Extended Communion in 1999, and the Church of England authorized 'Public Worship with Communion by Extension' in 2001. In this book Phillip Tovey examines these churches to discover the reasons for the production of these services and their theological rationale. An in-depth examination of case studies draws conclusions highly relevant to the wider church.

With a focus on seven Jesuit university leaders emeriti and the late University of Notre Dame President Father Theodore Hesburgh, this book offers a critical analysis of the common values, philosophies, and leadership practices of Jesuit-Catholic university presidents within the broader higher education context. Looking at the impact of these leaders' spirituality on their leadership styles, The Hermeneutics of Jesuit Leadership illuminates the influence of their common perspectives and leadership styles on university policy and culture. Offering a clear framework for Jesuit-Catholic organizational culture in higher education, the author explores the key lessons and practices that can be derived from the presidents' similar leadership ideals and qualities.

Pope Leo I's theological and political influence in his own time (440-461) and beyond far outweighs the amount of attention he has received in recent scholarship. That influence extended well beyond Rome to the Christian East through his contribution to preparations for the Council of Chalcedon and its outcome. For this he was alternately praised and vilified by the opposing parties at the Council. Leo made his views known through letters, and a vast number of homilies. While so many of these survive, Leo and his works have not been the subject of a major English-language socio-historical study in over fifty years. In this brief introduction to the life and works of this important leader of the early church, we gain a more accurate picture of the circumstances and pressures which were brought to bear on his pontificate. A brief introduction surveys the scanty sources which document Leo's early life, and sets his pontificate in its historical context, as the Western Roman Empire went into serious decline, and Rome lost its former status as the western capital. Annotated translations of various excerpts of Leo's letters and homilies are organised around four themes dealing with specific aspects of Leo's activity as bishop of Rome: Leo as spiritual adviser on the life of the faithful Leo as opponent of heresy the bishop of Rome as civic and ecclesiastical administrator Leo and the primacy of Rome. Taking each of these key elements of Leo's pontifical activities into account, we gain a more balanced picture of the context and contribution of his best-known writings on Christology. This volume offers an affordable introduction to the subject for both teachers and students of ancient and medieval Christianity.

Hailed by Albert Camus as 'the only great spirit of our times', Simone Weil was one of great essayists and activists of the twentieth century. Her writings on the nature of religious faith and spirituality have inspired many subsequent thinkers. Wrestling with the moral dilemmas entailed by commitment to the Catholic Church, Letter to a Priest is a brilliant meditation on the perennial battle between faith and doubt and resonates today as much as when it was first written. This edition also includes one of her most inspiring and celebrated essays, 'Human Personality', where Weil offers a moving and unorthodox account of the preciousness of human beings. With a new foreword by Raimond Gaita.

In this unique psychological study, John Kotre provides some startling answers to the questions Catholics are now asking about those who abandon the church, those who remain in it, and those who attempt to create a new church within the church. A detailed examination of the borderline between membership and ex-membership in the Catholic Church, as perceived by young adults reared within the Catholic educational system, the book provides an impressive substantive contribution to understanding not only of the modern church, but of organizational change in general.

Kotre, himself a product of the Catholic educational system, positions himself amid the tension and ambiguity between those who consider themselves "in" and those who consider themselves "out" of the Catholic Church. He designed a systematic questionnaire covering four hundred variables about each subject's beliefs, values, perceptions of parents, and reasons for being an insider or an outsider. Using this questionnaire he individually interviewed one hundred graduates of Catholic colleges. The surprising results of this important research show that, in spite of sixteen years of formal Catholic education, the attitudes of both the "ins" and the "outs" are not influenced by their Catholic upbringing so much as by their primary group relationships.

Recent research has shown that adult Americans are leaving their childhood faiths at ever increasing rates and that the Catholic Church is suffering the greatest losses. Kotre's book offers an insightful psychological perspective on this dramatic movement. It is a must-read for professional psychologists and sociologists, theologians, and people interested in the psychology and sociology of religion.

John N. Kotre is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of MichiganuDearborn. He is the author of numerous articles and books including The Story of Everything: A Parable of Creation and Evolution; Make It Count: How to Generate a Legacy That Gives Meaning to Your Life; and White Gloves: How We Create Ourselves Through Memory. Kotre was the creator of the award-winning PBS series, Seasons of Life.

Stephen Hamrick demonstrates how poets writing in the first part of Elizabeth I's reign proved instrumental in transferring Catholic worldviews and paradigms to the cults and early anti-cults of Elizabeth. Stephen Hamrick provides a detailed analysis of poets who used Petrarchan poetry to transform many forms of Catholic piety, ranging from confession and transubstantiation to sacred scriptures and liturgical singing, into a multivocal discourse used to fashion, refashion, and contest strategic political, religious, and courtly identities for the Queen and for other Court patrons. These poets, writers previously overlooked in many studies of Tudor culture, include Barnabe Googe, George Gascoigne, and Thomas Watson. Stephen Hamrick here shows that the nature of the religious reformations in Tudor England provided the necessary contexts required for Petrarchanism to achieve its cultural centrality and artistic complexity. This study makes a strong contribution to our understanding of the complex interaction among Catholicism, Petrachanism, and the second English Reformation.

By any reckoning, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinary, with moments of high drama. Not the least of these was his resignation from office in February 2013, the first papal resignation in 500 years. But who is Joseph Ratzinger? In this definitive biography, based on meticulous historical research and many hours of taped interviews with his subject, Peter Seewald shows the exceptional circumstances in which the exceptionally talented son of a Bavarian policeman became the first German pope for 950 years. In this first volume, covering the years 1927-1965, we witness Joseph Ratzinger's early days, living above his father's police station. Ratzinger came to adulthood through the years of National Socialism. Though hostile to the rise of Hitler, his family knew well about Dachau and Ratzinger himself was conscripted into the Hitler Youth. Joseph Ratzinger proved to be a man of exceptional intellectual gifts and by the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) he was already noted as one of the outstanding intellects present and was nominated a 'peritus' or theological expert. This was also the time of the start of his friendship with the Swiss theologian Hans Kung who was to become his nemesis. Of his predecessor, Pope Francis has said: 'Pope Benedict was a great Pope, great for the penetration of his intelligence, great for his important contribution to theology, great for his love of the Church and human beings, great for his virtues and faith'. Even in this first volume, we begin to understand how this came to be true.

The visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich are the world\'s greatest source of detail on the life of St. Mary Magdalen -- great sinner and penitent. Fully referenced to The Life of Jesus Christ (their source), these pages agree completely with Sacred Scripture, but also tell of Mary Magdalen\'s sinful life from age 9, her extravagant attire, her second repentence after falling back into sin, her exorcism by Our Lord, His defense of her against the self-righteous, her relationship with Martha and Lazarus, her external appearance, her role at Calvary and much more. Impr. 176 pgs, PB

This book presents the first debate between the contemporary movement Radical Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodox theologians. Leading international scholars offer new insights and reflections on a wide range of contemporary issues from a specifically theological and philosophical perspective. The ancient notion of divine Wisdom (Sophia) serves as a common point of reference in this encounter. Both Radical and Eastern Orthodoxy agree that the transfiguration of the world through the Word is at the very centre of the Christian faith. The book explores how this process of transformation can be envisaged with regard to epistemological, ontological, aesthetical, ecclesiological and political questions. Contributors to this volume include Rowan Williams, John Milbank, Antoine Arjakovsky, Michael Northcott, Nicholas Loudovikos, Andrew Louth and Catherine Pickstock.

This is the first book-length study of the political and theological views of Thomas White (alias Blacklo) and his followers the Blackloists. It both complements and opens up new lines of inquiry in the context of the current scholarship in two main areas. On the one hand, historians of early modern England are paying a tremendous amount of attention to the English Catholic Church, stressing the importance of the Catholic perspective in order to get a more accurate picture of England's religious and political history. This study responds to these suggestions by analyzing a group of English Catholics greatly influential in a complex period of the history of England. On the other hand and more generally, the volume explores the question of the intersection between politics and religion during the 1640s and 1650s in a historiographical context in which the manifold and complex link between the language of natural law and the language of theology in the history of English Republicanism is currently being taken into a greater account by a number of scholars. In this context, White's political theory can be used as an extremely interesting case-study to show how natural law bridged the complexity of the relationship between theological and secular arguments put forward in the debate around issues such as the nature and limit of government and the relationship between subjects and governors. As well as providing a detailed study of White and his views, this book also provides a modern edition of the full text of his most important political treatise The Grounds of Obedience and Government, a distinctly Catholic version of contractualism, that appeared to offer succour to a militantly Protestant republican regime.