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.

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.

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