Theology

Catholic Social Teaching as Theology

Grégoire Catta, SJ

Theological concepts and arguments are a resource for the ethical reflection developed in the Catholic tradition on economic, social, or political issues since the end of the nineteenth century. From the notion of Imago Dei to Jesus’s great commission to love one’s neighbour, from New Testament teachings to the writings of great theologians, an ethical reflection shaped by the Christian faith finds support and illumination in the Bible and theological traditions.

This book focuses on the post-Vatican II papal social encyclicals, namely Paul VI’s Populorum progressio, John Paul II’s Sollicitudo rei socialis, Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, and Francis’s Laudato Si’. Particular historical challenges and specific world views adopted by the popes shape their ethical reasoning and political priorities for action. Social encyclicals have also a lot to teach us about Christology, theological anthropology, or divine revelation.

2019     202 pages    R595.00

 Western Culture: Today and Tomorrow

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

Formerly titled Europe Today and Tomorrow in a previous edition, this book includes some of his keen insights about the social and political challenges confronting modern Western societies.

Ratzinger sought to remind Europeans, who at the time were crafting a new constitution, that the civilizational project we call “the West” is a cultural achievement with a history. Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome were the three foundation stones upon which Western civilization was built, he wrote. Their contributions form the basis for the Western understanding of human dignity and human rights, which spread from Europe to the United States and beyond.  This book also includes a new essay by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on clerical sex abuse, which traces the moral disorder that preys upon the young to the collapse of faith both inside and outside the Church.

“The witness of Christian lives nobly lived is the beginning of reconversion of the West—and that return to the truths taught by the God of the Bible is essential if the great Western civilizational project is not to crumble because of its current, postmodern incoherence. Joseph Ratzinger understood that danger long before many others.

2019     170 pages     R310.00

 

A Discerning Church: Pope Francis, Lonergan, and a Theological Method for the Future

Gerard Whelan, SJ

Presents a theological model for these changing times. It examines the thought of Bernard Lonergan, as outlined in his Method in Theology, and offers an assessment of the significance of Pope Francis and the Church since the Second Vatican Council.

It then explores major insights and issues such as ecclesial reform, globalization, and sexuality, that will impact the future of the church.

2020    232 pages    R529.50

 Common Good, Uncommon Questions: Topics in Moral Theology: Revised Updated

Editors: TImothy Backous, OSB and WIlliam C. Graham

Places the Catholic Church's guidance into contemporary context by considering stories, poems, and articles to challenge preconceptions, asking what contribution the Church can make to moral debate.

2019    287 pages    R585.00