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7 books match the query 'Church renewal'

cover of An Introduction to Vatican II as an Ongoing Theological Event

An Introduction to Vatican II as an Ongoing Theological Event

Matthew Levering

Catholic University of America Press, 2017

Contemporary scholars often refer to “the event of Vatican II,” but what kind of an event was it? In this first book of the new CUA Press series Sacra Doctrina, Matthew Levering leads his readers to see the Council as a “theological event”—a period of confirming and continuing God’s self-revelation in Christ into a new historical era for the Church.

This is an introduction to Vatican II with a detailed summary of each of its four central documents—the dogmatic constitutions—followed by explanations of how to interpret them. In contrast to other introductions, which pay little attention to the theological soil in which the documents of Vatican II germinated, Levering o­ffers a reading of each conciliar Constitution in light of a key theological author from the era: René Latourelle, SJ for Dei Verbum (persons and propositions); Louis Bouyer, CO for Sacrosanctum Concilium (active participation); Yves Congar, OP for Lumen Gentium (true and false reform); and Henri de Lubac, SJ for Gaudium et Spes (nature and grace).

This theological event is “ongoing,” Levering demonstrates, by tracing in each chapter the theological debates that have stretched from the close of the council till the present, and the difficulties the Church continues to encounter in encouraging an ever deeper participation in Jesus Christ on the part of all believers. In this light, the book’s final chapter compares the historicist (Massimo Faggioli) and Christological (Robert Imbelli) interpretations of Vatican II, arguing that historicism can undermine the Council’s fundamental desire for a reform and renewal rooted in Christ. The conclusion addresses the concerns about secularization and loss of faith raised after the Council by Henri de Lubac, Joseph Ratzinger, and Yves Congar, arguing that contemporary Vatican II scholarship needs to take these concerns more seriously.
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cover of Reassessing Reform

Reassessing Reform

Christopher M. Bellitto

Catholic University of America Press, 2012

Now, in celebration of the fiftieth anniversaries of the publication of The Idea of Reform and the Second Vatican Council, Reassessing Reform explores and critiques the enduring significance of Ladner's study, surveying new avenues and insights of more recent reform scholarship, especially concerning the long Middle Ages.
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cover of Rebuilding Trust: Clergy Morale in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis

Rebuilding Trust

Clergy Morale in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis

Brandon Vaidyanathan

Catholic University of America Press, 2025

While much attention has rightly been given to abuse survivors and institu­tional accountability, less has been said about how the sexual abuse crisis has shaped the experience of clergy themselves. Drawing on findings from the National Study of Catholic Priests (NSCP)—the most comprehensive survey of American priests in over 50 years—Rebuilding Trust explores how the abuse crisis and the Church’s institutional response have affected priestly well-be­ing and morale, perceptions of episcopal leadership, and the culture of the presbyterate more broadly. The study reveals a striking breakdown in trust between priests and their bishops, exacerbated by concerns over due process in the wake of an abuse allegation, inconsistent application of abuse preven­tion policies, and a widening ideological divide between younger and older clergy. The book combines sociological analysis with theological, psycholog­ical, historical, canonical, and pastoral perspectives to contextualize these findings. Contributors from various fields examine shifts in the priesthood over the past few decades, assess the implementation of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (the “Dallas Charter”) and explore practical strategies for strengthening clergy formation, fostering fra­ternity, and improving bishop-priest relationships. By integrating empirical research with theological reflection, this volume offers a timely and neces­sary addition to the discussion of how the Church can rebuild trust, support priests, and cultivate a healthier presbyterate. It will be essential reading for Church leaders, seminary formators, scholars of Catholicism, and anyone concerned with the future of the priesthood in the United States.
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cover of Renewing Our Hope: Essays for the New Evangelization

Renewing Our Hope

Essays for the New Evangelization

Robert Barron

Catholic University of America Press, 2020

In a time of discouragement, how can the Church renew itself and its outreach to all people? Bishop Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, insists that a "dumbed down" Catholicism cannot succeed in today's highly educated society--instead, the Church needs to draw upon its great theological heritage in order to renew its hope in Christ. With Renewing Our Hope: Essays for the New Evangelization, Bishop Barron traces this renewal through four stages. "Renewing Our Mission" lays out the challenges that call for Catholics to become more aware of their own intellectual resources in encountering the "Nones." "Renewing Our Minds" showcases the importance of theological reflection as a font of wisdom and sanity in the Church, touching on Thomas Aquinas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, the recently canonized John Henry Newman, and Pope Francis. In "Renewing the Church," he proceeds to look at how Scripture, the family, the seminary, and Catholic college graduates can each contribute to this renewal. Finally, in "Renewing Our Culture," he returns to the judgments Catholics must make in assessing contemporary culture, specifically, family life, liberalism, relativism, and (surprisingly) the beauty of cinema. Bishop Barron, known as the host of the Catholicism PBS video series, was previously rector and professor of systematic theology at Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago, Illinois. He demonstrates again in Renewing Our Hope his ability to make the fruits of his wide reading accessible to a broad audience, while still giving his academic colleagues much to consider.
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cover of Seeker Churches: Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional Way

Seeker Churches

Promoting Traditional Religion in a Nontraditional Way

Kimon Howland Sargeant

Rutgers University Press, 2000

America’s religious landscape is in flux. New churches are springing up and many older churches are redefining themselves to survive. At the forefront of this denominational free-for-all are evangelical “seeker” churches.

These churches target “seekers”—individuals of any faith or denominational background who seek spiritual fulfillment but are not currently affiliated with any specific church. By focusing on this largely untapped group, seeker churches have become one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the country. In his study, Kimon Sargeant provides a sociological context for the rise of these churches by exploring the rituals, messages, strategies, and denominational functions of this emerging form of American evangelical Protestantism. 

Featuring live bands, professional lighting and sound systems, and multi-media presentations, seeker churches are attracting many people who have “dropped out” of organized religion.  To broaden their appeal, they offer attenders advice on everyday issues ranging from relationships to finance.

Sargeant focuses on the success of the Willow Creek Association, the seeker church association started by the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago.  With over 5,000 member churches, the seven-year old association has already outdistanced 90 percent of American denominations and is the leader of the seeker church movement.  Through eyewitness accounts and careful research, Sargeant reveals the “seeker” movement to be a “reformation” of American Protestantism.
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cover of The Bishop's Burden: Reforming the Catholic Church in Early Modern Italy

The Bishop's Burden

Reforming the Catholic Church in Early Modern Italy

Celeste McNamara

Catholic University of America Press, 2020

In 1563, the Council of Trent published its Decrees, calling for significant reforms of the Catholic Church in response to criticism from both Protestants and Catholics alike. Bishops, according to the Decrees, would take the lead in implementing these reforms. They were tasked with creating a Church in which priests and laity were well educated, morally upright, and focused on worshipping God. Unfortunately for these bishops, the Decrees provided few practical suggestions for achieving the wide-ranging changes demanded. Reform was therefore an arduous and complex process, which many bishops struggled to accomplish or even refused to undertake fully. The Bishop’s Burden argues that reforming bishops were forced to be creative and resourceful to accomplish meaningful change, including creating strong diocesan governments, reforming clerical and lay behavior, educating priests and parishioners, and converting non-believers. The book explores this issue through a detailed case study of the episcopacy of Cardinal-Bishop Gregorio Barbarigo of Padua (bp. 1664-1697), asking how a dedicated bishop formulated a reform program that sought to achieve the Church’s goals. Barbarigo, like other reforming bishops, borrowed strategies from a variety of sources in the absence of clear guidance from Rome. He looked to both pre- and post-Tridentine bishops, the Society of Jesus, the Venetian government, and the Propaganda Fide, which he selectively emulated to address the problems he discovered in Padua. The book is based primarily on the detailed records of Barbarigo’s visitations of rural parishes and captures the rarely-heard voices of seventeenth-century Italian peasants. The Bishop's Burden helps us understand not only the changes experienced by early modern Catholics, but also how even the most sophisticated plans of central authorities could be frustrated by practical realities, which in turn complicates our understanding of state-building and social control.
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cover of The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century

The Megachurch and the Mainline

Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century

Stephen Ellingson

University of Chicago Press, 2007

Religious traditions provide the stories and rituals that define the core values of church members. Yet modern life in America can make those customs seem undesirable, even impractical. As a result, many congregations refashion church traditions so they may remain powerful and salient. How do these transformations occur? How do clergy and worshipers negotiate which aspects should be preserved or discarded?

Focusing on the innovations of several mainline Protestant churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, Stephen Ellingson’s The Megachurch and the Mainline provides new understandings of the transformation of spiritual traditions. For Ellingson, these particular congregations typify a new type of Lutheranism—one which combines the evangelical approaches that are embodied in the growing legion of megachurches with American society’s emphasis on pragmatism and consumerism. Here Ellingson provides vivid descriptions of congregations as they sacrifice hymns in favor of rock music and scrap traditional white robes and stoles for Hawaiian shirts, while also making readers aware of the long history of similar attempts to Americanize the Lutheran tradition.

This is an important examination of a religion in flux—one that speaks to the growing popularity of evangelicalism in America.

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