Here is a collection of vibrant essays, from a conference at St. Michael's College in Vermont, that reflects on the past, present, and future of Catholic theology. Contributors include the leading names in scripture and moral and systematic theology: -- Dermot Lane on the foundational roles of anthropology, imagination and memory in the performance of Christian theology. -- Alice Laffey on the past and present developments in biblical scholarship. -- Raymond Collins on the ecumenical progress over the last forty years in the study of the New Testament. -- Michael J. Fahey on trends in systematic theology since 1965. -- Philip S. Keane on the accomplishments and challenges facing moral theology. -- Kevin Irwin on the Christocentric character of liturgical and sacramental theology.

The New York Times bestselling historian takes on a pressing question in modern religion—will Pope Francis embrace change? Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas, offers a challenge to his church. Can he bring about significant change? Should he? Garry Wills, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, argues provocatively that, in fact, the history of the church throughout is a history of change. In this brilliant and incisive study, Wills describes the deep and serious changes that have taken place in the church or are in the process of occurring. These include the change from Latin, the growth and withering of the ecclesiastical monarchy, the abandonment of biblical literalism, the assertion and nonassertion of infallibility, and the erosion of church patriarchy. In such developments we see the living church adapting itself to the new historical circumstances. As Wills contends, it is only by examining the history of the church that we can understand Pope Francis's and the church's challenges.

Catholics are not Christians. They worship Mary. They do whatever the pope says. They cannot divorce. They eat fish on Fridays. These flawed but common statements reflect a combined ignorance of and fascination with Catholicism and the Catholic Church. Catholicism Today: An Introduction to the Contemporary Catholic Church aims to familiarize its readers with contemporary Catholicism. The book is designed to address common misconceptions and frequently-asked questions regarding the Church, its teachings, and the lived experience of Catholics in modern societies worldwide. Opening with a concise historical overview of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, the text explores the core beliefs and rituals that define Catholicism in practice, the organization of the Church and the Catholic calendar, as well as the broad question of what it means to be Catholic in a variety of cultural contexts. The book ends with a discussion of the challenges facing the Church both now and in the coming decades. Also included are two short appendices on Eastern Catholicism and Catholicism in the United States.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "The Future of Catholic Theological Ethics" that was published in Religions

This book explores the notion that the Roman Catholic Church risks imploding from within as a result of its inflexibility towards movements in favor of reasonable change and modernization. Attendance at Sunday Mass has dramatically decreased; the loss of the youth in these churches is a case in point. At the same time, the lack of vocations to the priesthood and religious life is at crisis proportions as is further evidenced by the closing of parishes and the curtailing of religious services including the rising phenomenon of "priest-less Parishes." Young men today--even if they aspire to the priesthood--experience both unrest and rejection at the continued demand of the Church's leadership that priests commit themselves to the lifelong discipline of celibacy. Back to the Future of the Roman Catholic Church addresses the root causes of the various developments that have provoked discontent with Church policies and defections from parish life on the part of those who appear to have lost faith in their hierarchical leaders at the highest levels of Church governance. Finally, this book probes the ways in which the Church can emerge from its crises to become, once again, faithful to its origins as founded by Jesus Christ.