The Faith Once for All Delivered: Doctrinal Authority in Catholic Theology
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
In the third verse of his eponymous New Testament epistle, Jude exhorts his readers “to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered,” a charge that continues to resound to the present day. This collection of essays responds to the apostle’s call by providing both a diagnosis of the ills of modern progressivist Catholic doctrinal and moral theology and a prescription for the safeguarding of orthodoxy via a rightly understood return to the traditional sources of theology.
The essays in the first part of this collection seek to answer the question, “What went wrong with Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council?” Following a brief account of the movement in modern theology from its philosophical basis in Kant and Hegel to the nouvelle théologie and later progressivist theologies of the twentieth century, the writings of Karl Rahner, Walter Kasper, and Bernhard Häring are treated as representative of principal problematic trends, and the concept of heresy is surveyed as it has been understood in the past and as it operates in the Church today. The essays in the second part indicate the way forward for Catholic doctrinal and moral theology, examining and distinguishing the orthodox use of the fontes theologiae of magisterial teachings, the deposit of faith in its development, the “sense of the faithful” (sensus fidelium), Sacred Scripture, and Church councils and synods.
In its twofold attentiveness to contemporary errors in Catholic theology and to tradition-based correctives, The Faith Once for All Delivered offers an urgent and compelling summons to the sacred mission of defending doctrinal and moral orthodoxy.
- Presents a collection of 11 essays
- Seeks to answer the question, “What went wrong with Catholic theology since the Second Vatican Council?”
- Indicates the way forward for Catholic doctrinal and moral theology
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Introduction
- PART ONE
- 1. The Rise and Fall of Modern Catholic Theology
- 2. Rahner: The Withering of Faith
- 3. The Historicity of Truth: On the Premises and Foundations of Walter Kasper’s Theology
- 4. Bernhard Häring’s Moral Theology
- 5. Doing Heresy: Then and Now
- PART TWO
- 6. Magisterium: The Teaching Authority of the Church
- 7. Saint Vincent of Lérins and the Development of Christian Doctrine
- 8. The Logic of Doctrinal Development according to John Henry Newman
- 9. Sensus Fidelium: Sense of the Faithful
- 10. Apostolicity and Historicity: Scripture, Development, and a Truly Critical History
- 11. Episcopal Conferences and the Local Renewal of Sacramental Doctrine
- Afterword: “One Lord, One Faith”: Unity of the Church through Unity in Faith
The project of ‘renewal’ in Catholic theology has been underway for almost two generations. Since the early twentieth century, theologians have been yearning for the revitalization of their sacred discipline. And yet, arguably, clarity about the precise essence of such a renewed theology remains elusive. Thus, the pressing question remains: What is authentic Catholic theology? With subtlety and nuance, the essays in this volume collectively invite readers to revisit this crucial question. These authors (representing a diverse range of academic backgrounds and spiritual traditions) identify key principles that always inform Catholic theology—even as they model its authentic practice. This volume describes what ‘faith seeking understanding’ looks like, and why authentic theology is always possible and is still needed (even in the twenty-first century). I am grateful for this book. It points toward something that the contemporary practice of Catholic theology eagerly awaits: ‘a renewal of the renewal.
Cajetan Cuddy, O.P., Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.
This important book is a masterful treatment of some of the major problems with contemporary theology that deviates from the Catholic tradition. Its contributors are among the best qualified scholars to comment upon the defects of progressivist theology and to offer explanations for some of the most important approaches to orthodox Catholic theology. Among the relevant theological topics covered the magisterium, Scripture, the sensus fidelium, councils and synods of bishops, heresy, and the development of doctrine. Each of these topics is relevant to the theological crises that the Church is facing today. No other book to my knowledge tackles these contemporary theological issues with such expertise. This book should be required reading for all seminarians and for students of theology.
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Christians today are divided between those who are servants of the Word, accepting Revelation as godly, and those who see themselves as masters of the apostolic tradition, able to change the deposit of faith and morals. One cannot belong to both camps. This superb collection of essays, sometimes blunt and regularly demanding, merits the effort required of the reader. It examines the philosophical presuppositions of the revolutionaries, then analyses and answers their arguments striving to separate ought from is and theology from Scripture. The authors take us to the heart of the mighty struggles that have continued for decades, sometimes hidden, sometimes openly in synods, which have already destroyed national communities and might yet provoke a German schism while certainly hastening its decline
Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop Emeritus of Sydney, Australia