Georgetown University Press, 2002 Cloth: 978-0-87840-889-4 Library of Congress Classification BX830 1962 .A45L587 2002 Dewey Decimal Classification 261.72
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
It was by far the most controversial document to emerge from Vatican II--Dignitatis Humanae, or the Declaration on Religious Freedom. Drafted largely by prominent Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray, it represented a departure from previous Catholic teachings in that it acknowledged and accepted as normative the separation between Church and State and declared religious freedom a fundamental human right. In doing this, it set forth guidelines for the role of the Catholic Church in secular liberal and pluralistic societies.
Nearly four decades later, Hermínio Rico examines the continued relevance of this declaration in today's world, compares its most paradigmatic interpretations, and proposes a reconsideration of its import for contemporary church-society relationships. He offers a detailed analysis of how Pope John Paul II has appropriated, interpreted, and developed the main themes of the document, and how he has applied them to such contentious modern issues as the fall of Communism and the rise of secular pluralism. In addition, Rico sets forth his own vision of the future of Dignitatis Humanae, and how the profound themes of the declaration can be applied in years to come to help the church find a way to engage effectively with, and within, pluralistic societies.
Of interest to students of Catholic thought, church-society relationships, the legacy of John Courtney Murray, and the teachings of John Paul II, this book offers a fresh perspective on one of the most important documents in the modern history of the Catholic church.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Hermínio Rico, SJ, is editor of the Jesuit cultural monthly journal Brotéria - Cristianismo e Cultura, and guest lecturer at the Faculdade de Teologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon.
REVIEWS
-- Journal of Religion
-- Roger Haight, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
-- The Way
-- Theological Studies
-- America
-- J. Leon Hooper, Woodstock Theological Seminary, Georgetown University
-- Thomas Massaro, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Three Moments for Dignitatis Humanae
First Moment: Religious Freedom Replaces Established
Catholicism
Second Moment: Freedom of the Church against Atheistic
Communism
Third Moment: The Challenges of Secularism and Relativism
Relativism and Privatization of Religion
Competing Responses
Two Defining Historical Experiences: Latin Europe and the
United States of America
A Dual Legacy of Liberalism-Catholicism Relations
Different Challenges by Dignitatis Humanae
Notes
2. Interpretations of Dignitatis Humanae:
Circumstantial Factors and Essential Conclusions
John Courtney Murray: The Focus on the Juridical
The Arguments in Dignitatis Humanae
Murray's Political Argument
A Narrow Delimitation of the Issue
An Option of Ecclesiastical Prudence
The Influence of American Constitutionalism
The French School versus the American School
The Preference for a Theology of Religious Freedom
Grounded in Scripture
Inverse Methodologies Induced by Opposite Historical
Experiences
Andre-Vincent: Ontological Grounding in the Order of Truth
Conceptual Precision and Accuracy of History
Inconsistency and Cohesion of Dignitatis Humanae
Greater Role for Revelation
Freedom as Spontaneity, not Immunity
Distrust in the Neutral State
Pietro Pavan: Dignitatis Humanae as a Unified Totality
Defending the Unity of the Whole Text
Historical Disclosure of a Fundamental Right
The Central Motive of the Dignity of the Human Person
Fundamental Assertions of Dignitatis Humanae as Parameters for
the Service of the Church to the Human Search for the Truth
The Essential Proclamation
Unwavering Assertion of the Moral Duties toward the Truth
New Emphasis on Personal Freedom
Encountering the Truth in Free Dialogue
Learning from History and Human Experience
Conclusion
Notes
3. Dignitatis Humanae in the Pontificate of John Paul II
Karol Wojtyla at Vatican II
Suggestions for the Council
Third-Session Debate on Religious Freedom
Alternative Schema on the Church in the Contemporary
World
Fourth-Session Discussion of Dignitatis Humanae
The Related Problem of Atheism
Conclusions
Implementation of the Council in Cracow
John Paul II and the Second Moment: Opposition to Atheistic
Totalitarianism
From the Traditional Natural Law Approach to Favored
Theological Arguments
Religious Freedom, the First Human Right
The Roots of the Obstacles to Religious Freedom
Transcendent Grounding of Human Dignity
A Right as a Function of a Duty: Truth above Freedom
Conclusion: Accents and Unclarities
John Paul II and the Third Moment: Mistrust of Secular
Pluralism
Centesimus Annus. An Assessment of the Condition of
Freedom
Veritatis Splendor and Evangelium Vitae: Rejection of the
Culture of Death
Conclusion: Renewed Defensiveness toward Modernity
Notes
4. Freedom, Dialogue, and Truth: The Presence of the Church
in Contemporary Pluralistic and Secularized Societies
Expectations of John Courtney Murray
Secularity and Freedom
Historical Consciousness and Truth
Promise and Lessons
External Challenges of the Third Moment
Secularism and Privatization of Religion
Distortion of Human Freedom
A Moral Culture of Death
General Goals for the Church's Reply
How John Paul II Has Responded
New Evangelization
Truth over Freedom
Reinforcement of Authority in Moral Formation
Dignitatis Humanae, the Public Role of the Church,
and John Paul II
Affirmation of a Binding Objective Moral Order
The Constraints of Personal Freedom and Social Consensus
Conditions for a Genuine and Fruitful Encounter
The Discourse of a Public Church
In Freedom, through Dialogue, Seeking Truth
Notes
Georgetown University Press, 2002 Cloth: 978-0-87840-889-4
It was by far the most controversial document to emerge from Vatican II--Dignitatis Humanae, or the Declaration on Religious Freedom. Drafted largely by prominent Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray, it represented a departure from previous Catholic teachings in that it acknowledged and accepted as normative the separation between Church and State and declared religious freedom a fundamental human right. In doing this, it set forth guidelines for the role of the Catholic Church in secular liberal and pluralistic societies.
Nearly four decades later, Hermínio Rico examines the continued relevance of this declaration in today's world, compares its most paradigmatic interpretations, and proposes a reconsideration of its import for contemporary church-society relationships. He offers a detailed analysis of how Pope John Paul II has appropriated, interpreted, and developed the main themes of the document, and how he has applied them to such contentious modern issues as the fall of Communism and the rise of secular pluralism. In addition, Rico sets forth his own vision of the future of Dignitatis Humanae, and how the profound themes of the declaration can be applied in years to come to help the church find a way to engage effectively with, and within, pluralistic societies.
Of interest to students of Catholic thought, church-society relationships, the legacy of John Courtney Murray, and the teachings of John Paul II, this book offers a fresh perspective on one of the most important documents in the modern history of the Catholic church.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Hermínio Rico, SJ, is editor of the Jesuit cultural monthly journal Brotéria - Cristianismo e Cultura, and guest lecturer at the Faculdade de Teologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon.
REVIEWS
-- Journal of Religion
-- Roger Haight, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
-- The Way
-- Theological Studies
-- America
-- J. Leon Hooper, Woodstock Theological Seminary, Georgetown University
-- Thomas Massaro, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Three Moments for Dignitatis Humanae
First Moment: Religious Freedom Replaces Established
Catholicism
Second Moment: Freedom of the Church against Atheistic
Communism
Third Moment: The Challenges of Secularism and Relativism
Relativism and Privatization of Religion
Competing Responses
Two Defining Historical Experiences: Latin Europe and the
United States of America
A Dual Legacy of Liberalism-Catholicism Relations
Different Challenges by Dignitatis Humanae
Notes
2. Interpretations of Dignitatis Humanae:
Circumstantial Factors and Essential Conclusions
John Courtney Murray: The Focus on the Juridical
The Arguments in Dignitatis Humanae
Murray's Political Argument
A Narrow Delimitation of the Issue
An Option of Ecclesiastical Prudence
The Influence of American Constitutionalism
The French School versus the American School
The Preference for a Theology of Religious Freedom
Grounded in Scripture
Inverse Methodologies Induced by Opposite Historical
Experiences
Andre-Vincent: Ontological Grounding in the Order of Truth
Conceptual Precision and Accuracy of History
Inconsistency and Cohesion of Dignitatis Humanae
Greater Role for Revelation
Freedom as Spontaneity, not Immunity
Distrust in the Neutral State
Pietro Pavan: Dignitatis Humanae as a Unified Totality
Defending the Unity of the Whole Text
Historical Disclosure of a Fundamental Right
The Central Motive of the Dignity of the Human Person
Fundamental Assertions of Dignitatis Humanae as Parameters for
the Service of the Church to the Human Search for the Truth
The Essential Proclamation
Unwavering Assertion of the Moral Duties toward the Truth
New Emphasis on Personal Freedom
Encountering the Truth in Free Dialogue
Learning from History and Human Experience
Conclusion
Notes
3. Dignitatis Humanae in the Pontificate of John Paul II
Karol Wojtyla at Vatican II
Suggestions for the Council
Third-Session Debate on Religious Freedom
Alternative Schema on the Church in the Contemporary
World
Fourth-Session Discussion of Dignitatis Humanae
The Related Problem of Atheism
Conclusions
Implementation of the Council in Cracow
John Paul II and the Second Moment: Opposition to Atheistic
Totalitarianism
From the Traditional Natural Law Approach to Favored
Theological Arguments
Religious Freedom, the First Human Right
The Roots of the Obstacles to Religious Freedom
Transcendent Grounding of Human Dignity
A Right as a Function of a Duty: Truth above Freedom
Conclusion: Accents and Unclarities
John Paul II and the Third Moment: Mistrust of Secular
Pluralism
Centesimus Annus. An Assessment of the Condition of
Freedom
Veritatis Splendor and Evangelium Vitae: Rejection of the
Culture of Death
Conclusion: Renewed Defensiveness toward Modernity
Notes
4. Freedom, Dialogue, and Truth: The Presence of the Church
in Contemporary Pluralistic and Secularized Societies
Expectations of John Courtney Murray
Secularity and Freedom
Historical Consciousness and Truth
Promise and Lessons
External Challenges of the Third Moment
Secularism and Privatization of Religion
Distortion of Human Freedom
A Moral Culture of Death
General Goals for the Church's Reply
How John Paul II Has Responded
New Evangelization
Truth over Freedom
Reinforcement of Authority in Moral Formation
Dignitatis Humanae, the Public Role of the Church,
and John Paul II
Affirmation of a Binding Objective Moral Order
The Constraints of Personal Freedom and Social Consensus
Conditions for a Genuine and Fruitful Encounter
The Discourse of a Public Church
In Freedom, through Dialogue, Seeking Truth
Notes
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC