Sheed & Ward – förlag

Judaism and Christianity are religions bound together by their claims to the same biblical covenant initiated by God with Abraham and his descendants. Yet, despite the inseparable connection between the election of Israel and that of the church, between the ''old'' and the ''new'' covenant, this shared spiritual patrimony has been the source of a type of violent sibling rivalry competing for the same paternal love and inherited entitlement. God, it seemed, had but one blessing to bestow. It could be given to either Jacob or Esau-but not both. In the twenty-first century, however, Jews and Christians are challenged to reconsider their theological assumptions by two inescapable truths: the moral tragedy of the holocaust demands that Christian thinkers acknowledge the violent effects of theologically de-legitimizing Jews and Judaism, and the pervasive reality of cultural and religious pluralism calls both Christian and Jewish theologians to rethink the covenant in the presence of the Other. Two Faiths, One Covenant? Jewish and Christian Identity in the Presence of the Other is a breakthrough work that embraces this contemporary challenge and charts a path toward fruitful interfaith dialogue. The Christian and Jewish theologians in this book explore the ways that both religions have understood the covenant in biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern religious writings and reflect on how the covenant can serve as a reservoir for a positive theological relationship between Christianity and Judaism-not merely one of non-belligerent tolerance, but of respect and theological pluralism, however limited.

Beyond the occasional events of synods in the Catholic church, and beyond practices of synodality, stands a church that is synodal in its very nature. This ecclesial identity has its roots in baptism and the formation of the people of God prior to any subsequent division into laity and clergy. These baptismal roots also point to the missional orientation of the church, indicating that a synodal church is not self-referential, but serves the proclamation of God''s saving mercy to a world thirsty for hope and healing.A synodal church is a church on pilgrimage, a church in movement that finds its path by drawing on the accumulated wisdom of the whole people of God as they journey together. This book shows that the path forward only becomes clearer step by step through a process of dialogue, conversion, and co-responsibility. The journey takes place in different locales and different contexts, consequently requiring adaptation to accommodate the circumstances of local churches. Yet, this diversified and de-centered church also requires structures to keep it in communion and unity. Any reform of church structures, including practices of synodality, serves the communion and mission of the church. Other Christian communions, Anglicans and Lutherans among them, have traveled the path of synodality. The Catholic Church can learn from their experience in the spirit of receptive ecumenism.

Love is a Journey is the remarkable story of Albino Luciani, known to the world as Pope John Paul I, from his harrowing birth to his tragic death just 33 days into his 1978 pontificate—the shortest pontificate in history. After years of dedicated archival research, and after interviewing dozens of figures in the Catholic hierarchy, as well as Pope John Paul I’s niece, author Mo Guernon explores Luciani’s family history, personality, and character to reveal the very essence of the man who became known as the Smiling Pope. Guernon analyzes Luciani’s major public pronouncements and his most significant writings, which shed considerable light on his fundamental beliefs and worldview. In the concluding chapters of the book Guernon assesses Pope John Paul I’s legacy and journey toward sainthood—and the beguiling question of how the Catholic Church might have evolved had his pontificate endured through the 1980s and beyond. The events of Luciani’s life are so compelling, so remarkable, so fast moving, that the narrative reads like a novel. Guernon paints a multi-dimensional portrait of the man that prominently displays his virtues and shortcomings, successes and failures, heroic deeds and personal doubts about his own courage. He highlights Luciani’s progressive views of issues of his time, the crises in his personal and priestly life, his discomfort with the spotlight and his anxiety about succeeding the popular Pope Paul VI, the relative simplicity of his inauguration as pope, and the unprecedented power he wielded on those with whom he came into contact both personally and through the mass media. Above all, Guernon attempts to capture the pope’s mysterious ability to engender love among people of all faiths, and nonbelievers too, with his inimitable humility and almost divine smile. A striking example of his influence came from punk rocker Patti Smith, who was so enamored of Luciani that she wrote a song about the pope and dedicated her 1979 album, Wave, to him. Pope John Paul I’s impact on the world during his 33-day pontificate was simultaneously profound and perplexing—and, until now, underappreciated. In little more than a month, the Luciani dazzled people of all ages, races, and nations while modernizing the papacy and establishing an ambitious agenda for promoting peace and dialogue among all peoples, a program subsequently carried out by his successors, particularly Pope Francis. And in fact Pope Francis established the Vatican Pope John Paul I Foundation in memory of his beloved mentor. Never has a world leader accomplished so much in so little time.

Aging is an inescapable part of life, something we celebrate when we are young and intent on achieving all those milestones – 16 and driving! 18 and voting! 21 and drinking! – but that becomes more sobering as the milestones are fewer and perhaps grimmer. This book addresses, from the point of view and personal experience of a 65-year-old baby boomer with a bad hip, how we got here, how we carry on our journey with grace and humor, and where we are going next.

How do we navigate a morally complex world? How do we know how to do the right thing, especially when so many voices are clamoring for our attention, telling us that they have the full truth of just what the “right thing” is, and what it requires of us? James T. Bretzke, S.J., one of most lucid interpreters of the Catholic tradition writing today, helps students morally analyze a wide range of controversial and contested issues in society today through the use of principles, paradigms, and the cardinal virtue of prudence.After introducing the approach of principled prudence, drawing on Thomas Aquinas, Catholic Social Teaching, and other sources, Bretzke engages a range of moral considerations in the following chapters: the death penalty, abortion, gender, immigration and border security, welfare, economics, and faithful citizenship.In the concluding chapter, Bretzke surveys our current political landscape, and its attendant culture wars, and suggests a possible path forward drawing on the central moral concept of the common good.While politics has often been described as the “art of compromise,” U.S. society seems to be short of such artists today. Bretzke, a master of moral theology, gives students the tools to better interpret and assess critical issues—and to appreciate the depth of the Catholic tradition’s wisdom on such issues.Ideal for classroom use, including such courses as Catholic ethics, theological ethics, and moral theology, this text illuminates the core moral principles that deal with moral discernment in an imperfect and increasingly polarized world.Each chapter includes case studies, questions for reflection and discussion, and resources for further reading.\

Beyond Priests contends that the requirements of the clerical priesthood of the Catholic Church—that all priests must be male, and that all priests must be celibate—is a gross distortion of scripture and the church’s early history that must be changed. While the roots of the modern priesthood go back to the fourth century and even more remotely to the presbyters or elders who advised local bishops in the early church, the contemporary priestly model is very much the product of seventeenth-century French reformers acting to apply a 1563 decree on the priesthood of the Council of Trent. The present-day priestly model has increasingly become harmful, even toxic, not only to priests themselves, but to the ministry and the Catholic community. Based on the historical analysis, Beyond Priests outlines a whole new way of approaching ministry and leadership that is in tune with contemporary needs, is inclusive of women and men, and is more authentically derived from the New Testament and the early church.