Process Thought and Roman Catholicism

Marc A. Pugliese is associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Leo University. John Becker is assistant professor of philosophy in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas.

Marc Pugliese and John Becker have brought together the most prominent Catholic philosophers and theologians who have reflected long and hard on Process thought to critically examine its place in Catholic theology. Sandwiched between the thoughtful preface of the premier Wesleyan Whiteheadian theologian John B. Cobb, Jr, and the challenging envoy of the Jesuit theologian Thomas P. Rausch, these essays leave no aspect of Catholic theology unturned. By no means uncritically endorsing Process philosophy, these essays show how various aspects of the Christian faith, both theoretical and practical, can be illuminated by the emphasis of Process thought on relation and change. Let's begin the conversation on this important theme (again)!

• Introduction: “Catholic Theology” by John B. Cobb, Jr. Chapter 1: “Does Process Theology Rest on a Mistake?” by David B. Burrell, C. S. C.Chapter 2: “Process Theology and the Catholic Theological Community” by J. J. Mueller, S. J.Chapter 3: “Duns Scotus, Catholicity and the Roots of Process Thought” by Ilia Delio, O. S. F.Chapter 4: “Charles Hartshorne and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition” by Daniel A. DombrowskiChapter 5: “A Catholic Approach to Process Philosophy” by Maria-Teresa TeixeiraChapter 6: “Balancing Permanence and Change in a Systems-Oriented Metaphysics” by Joseph A. Bracken, S. J.Chapter 7: “A Process Interpretation of Creatio ex Nihilo” by Thomas E. Hosinski, C. S. C.Chapter 8: “Whitehead’s View on Incarnation and the Co-Inherence of God and the World” by Palmyre OomenChapter 9: “The Eucharistic Experience: Process Theology and Sacramental Theology” by Thomas SchärtlChapter 10: “Babbling on About Pluralism: The Catholicity of Pluralism” by John BeckerChapter 11: “Aquina