Church, Sacrament of the World

ISBN-13: 9781803748283 / Angielski / Miękka / 2025 / 352 str.

Joe Egan

Opis

Six decades on from Vatican II, the Catholic Church continues to struggle with a crisis precipitated by clerical child sexual abuse. The faith of believers has been shaken and a chasm has opened between popular conceptions of the church and the theological ones prized by Scripture and Tradition.Seeking to bridge the chasm, this work approaches the church as «sacrament of the world». It underscores the need for continuing ecclesial reform while also insisting on the importance of mutual engagement between church and world, even when the relationship between them is strained and the questions arising are divisive. Among the most complex of those are ones associated with Paul VI's Humanae Vitae, an encyclical that was even dismissed by many committed Catholics. Yet, as history frequently does, questions that once appeared to be closed can reopen in surprising ways, thereby forcing us to grapple afresh with the mysterious workings of divine providence in ways that are quite challenging.

As a chasm now exists between theological and popular conceptions of the Church because of scandal, this work seeks a path between the polarized perspectives by presenting the Church as 'sacrament of the world.' Though the questions arising are complex and difficult, they are hugely important at this time of immense challenges for all humanity.