Lucas Briola - Böcker

No other encyclical has generated as much conversation—both Catholic and non-Catholic—as Laudato si'. Often forgotten in these conversations is the theological heart and eucharistic vision of the encyclical and its integral ecology. Even the title of Laudato si'—"Praised be!"— signals the centrality of right praise in caring for our common home. Using Bernard Lonergan's theology of history, this book unearths the doxological, eucharistic vision that shapes the encyclical's integral presentation of social and ecological conversion. It offers the first book-length study that recovers the eucharistic nature of Laudato si'.In drawing out the eucharistic vision of Laudato si', the book accomplishes several feats for the reader. It roots the eucharistic dimensions of the encyclical in the writings of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, showing how Pope Francis develops their thought in notable ways. It introduces Bernard Lonergan's theology of history, showing how his framework can capture the eucharistic contours of caring for our common home; so too, in light of Laudato si', does the book expand his theology of history to incorporate both ecological concern and the doxological, eucharistic essence of the church. The book assembles a liturgically shaped, systematic account of the church's social mission. It joins poles otherwise sundered in a polarized church and world: between worship and justice, between concerns for human life and concerns for the natural world. Realizing the eucharistic vision of Laudato si' promises much for our contemporary moment. Pope Francis recently observed that the integral ecology of Laudato si' holds the key for the world's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Catholic Bishops recently launched a Eucharistic Revival that aims to rekindle eucharistic devotion and praxis. The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si': Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology supplies a timely study that helps fulfill these intertwined calls.

Today’s overlapping social and ecological crises portend Bernard Lonergan’s memorable remark that “the world lies in pieces before us and pleads to be put together again.” The calls of Catholic social teaching for a ‘humane globalization’ and, more recently an ‘integral ecology’ only heighten the urgency of this task. Inspired and aided by Lonergan’s thought, this volume presents an array of essays that collectively aspire to answer these pleas. Engaging theology, philosophy, the social sciences, and the natural sciences, the volume’s authors hope to show how in fact ‘everything is interconnected’ in the church’s ongoing task of caring for our common, though fragmented, home. This volume stands as the first publication of the International Institute for Method in Theology. Launched in 2017 by Fr. Robert Doran, S.J. — and through the joined efforts of the Marquette Lonergan Project, the Lonergan Research Institute at Regis College (University of Toronto), and the theology faculty of the Gregorian University (Rome) — the Institute aims to implement Bernard Lonergan’s ‘generalised empirical method’ across disciplines through global collaboration.