Kimberly Hope Belcher - Böcker

The long-standing tradition of baptizing infants suggests that the sacraments plunge our bodies into salvation, so the revelation of God's love in the sacraments addresses the whole person, not the mind alone. In this work, the contemporary Roman Catholic rite of baptism for infants becomes a case study, manifesting the connections between the human body, the ecclesial body, and the Body of Christ. The sacramental life, for children as for adults, is an ongoing journey deeper into the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.By examining the church's practice of infant baptism, Kimberly Hope Belcher asks how human beings participate in God's life through the sacraments. Christian sacraments are embodied, cultural rituals performed by and for human beings. At the same time, the sacraments are God's gifts of grace, by which human beings enter into God's own life. In this study, contemporary ritual studies, sacramental theology, and trinitarian theology are used to explore how participation in the sacraments can be an efficacious engagement in God's life of love.Kimberly Hope Belcher is an assistant professor of theology at Saint John's University, where she teaches sacramental theology and ritual studies. She is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy and writes for the liturgical blog Pray Tell.

By carefully listening to the words and wisdom of survivors, this volume focuses on ways forward in the work of creating an atmosphere of accountability, healing, and trust in today’s church.  In March of 2022, practitioners of psychology, law, and theology, gathered at the University of Notre Dame for a major conference to explore practical strategies to increase accountability, promote healing, and rebuild trust in the life of the Catholic Church in the wake of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The essays in this volume share the fruits of those days spent reflecting on recent research on these challenging issues. The result is a hopeful resource in service to survivors and to those who minister with them through listening, giving voice, and bearing witness to the wounded body of Christ.  The challenges of addressing the range of problems caused by the abuse crisis are great, affecting the work of ministry in profound ways. From the training of future ministers—lay and ordained—to the exercise of the church’s various ministries in parishes, education and direct service, the abuse crisis calls out for a response to the questions posed by abuse survivors and those who accompany and hope to serve them. Organized around three themes—accountability, healing, and trust—the contributors to this volume probe the deepest understanding of the church’s mission and name the most significant divisions in the response to the sexual abuse crisis. By carefully listening to the words and wisdom of survivors, this volume focuses on ways forward and treats clergy, laypeople, scholars, and ministers as partners in the work of creating an atmosphere of accountability, healing, and trust in the post-abuse-revelation church.   Contributors include:Melanie Susan Barrett — Kimberly Hope Belcher — Jennifer Beste — Julia Canonico — Peter CaprettoDavid A. Clairmont — Tristan Cooley — Anselma Dolcich-Ashley — Sarah Gallagher — Kevin Grove, CSCGerard J. McGlone, SJ — Marcus Mescher — Bruce Morrill, SJ — Stacey Noem — Ronald Patrick Raab, CSCHilary Jerome Scarsella — Kenneth W. Schmidt — Eric T. Styles — Patrick J. Wall — J.J. Wright

2025 Catholic Media Association Honorable Mention, Ecumenism or Interfaith RelationsMutual recognition of baptism has grounded ecumenical efforts, but does contemporary Roman Catholic pastoral practice reflect these ecumenical theologies? How do we understand the outer boundaries of the church? On the one hand, over the centuries Christians have recognized the baptism of those outside their own ecclesial body, but on the other hand, the practices of receiving those who are already baptized from other groups proclaim social, theological, and ecclesial distinctions. How do contemporary practices reflect theological principles and historical development? One Baptism—One Church? demonstrates ways that contemporary practice may be an obstacle to the full expression of our ecumenical commitments and how history can reshape that practice.   While the mutual recognition of baptism has grounded ecumenical efforts, pastoral practice—especially in local communities far away from the centers of power—does not always reflect ecumenical theologies. Contemporary Roman Catholic practice may seem at odds with the official understanding of baptized Christians as in real though imperfect communion by means of their participation in Christ. Focusing on the Byzantine East and Roman West, this book seeks to remove obstacles to the more complete expression and recognition of Christian unity and outlines concrete ways that our partial communion could be better expressed. It concludes with practical reflections and recommendations for best practices in the reception of baptized Christians in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church and proposes a reformed Rite for the Reception of Baptized Christians that is more faithful to history and ecumenically sensitive.

All doctrinal development and debate occurs against the background of Christian practice and worship. By attending to what Christians have done in the eucharist, Kimberly Belcher provides a new perspective on the history of eucharistic doctrine and Christian divisions today. Stepping back from the metaphysical approaches that divide the churches, she focuses on a phenomenological approach to the eucharist and a retrieval of forgotten elements in Ambrose's and Augustine's work. The core of the eucharist is the act of giving thanks to the Father - for the covenant and for the world. This unitive core allows for significant diversity on questions about presence, sacrifice, ecclesiology, and ministry. Belcher shows that the key is humility about what we know and what we do not, which gives us a willingness to receive differences in Christian teachings as gifts that will allow us to move forward in a new way.