A collection of 15 articles from the June 2021 edition of La Civiltà Cattolica, the highly respected and oldest Catholic journal published from Rome. Forging our Culture: Ignatius, Luther, Charles V and Magellan in the year 1521 by Giancarlo Pani considers how a number of events in the sixteenth century collectively propelled Europe into the Modern Age. Ignatius of Loyola’s devotion to St Peter is well-know, Pedro de Leturia asks what aspects of his spirituality are clearly inspired by St. Francis of Assisi? With over 70 per cent of the world’s Catholics now living outside Europe and North America, the Catholic Church is truly a global Church. However, it faces many challenges. Thomas P Rausch, a theologian at Loyola Marymount University in USA, summarized the issues. In Jacob and Esau Embrace: An Orthodox Rabbinic Declaration on Christianity Drew Christiansen argues that, in an age of secularization, Jews and Christians should bear witness in a special way to God’s holiness and his intrinsic link with the moral life. Cristian Peralta reflects whether the lack of certainty we are experiencing during the is pandemic something new and what are the certainties on which to build a sustainable future? Theological and Anthropological Consequences of Environmental Damage. An African reflects by Wilfred Sumani reminds us how nature conservation should be promoted not only for the sake of economic sustainability, but also for its theological and anthropological importance.

"A critical analysis of the Catholic Churches around the world by areas (North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Europe), with attention to their origins, internal challenges, and external pressures"--

Catholic antimodern, 1920-1929 -- Anti-communism and paternal Catholicism, 1929-1944 -- Anti-fascism and fraternal Catholicism, 1929-1944 -- Rebuilding Christian Europe, 1944-1950 -- Christian democracy and Catholic innovation in the long 1950s -- The return of heresy in the global 1960s

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.

Tracing the development of progressive Catholic approaches to political and economic modernization, Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy disputes standard interpretations of the Catholic response to democracy and modernity in the English-speaking world—particularly the conventional view that the Church was the servant of right-wing reactionaries and authoritarian, patriarchal structures. Starting with the writings of Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler of Germany, the Frenchman Frédérick Ozanam, and England’s Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, whose pioneering work laid the foundation of the Catholic "third way," Corrin reveals a long tradition within Roman Catholicism that championed social activism. These visionary writers were the forerunners of Pope John XXIII’s aggiornamento, a call for Catholics to broaden their historical perspectives and move beyond a static theology fixed to the past. By examining this often overlooked tradition, Corrin attempts to confront the perception that Catholicism in the modern age has invariably been an institution of reaction that is highly suspicious of liberalism and progressive social reform. Catholic Intellectuals and the Challenge of Democracy charts the efforts of key Catholic intellectuals, primarily in Britain and the United States, who embraced the modern world and endeavored to use the legacies of their faith to form an alternative, pluralistic path that avoided both socialist collectivism and capitalism. In this sweeping volume, Corrin discusses the influences of Cecil and G. K. Chesterton, H. A. Reinhold, Hilaire Belloc, and many others on the development of Catholic social, economic, and political thought, with a special focus on Belloc and Reinhold as representatives of reactionary and progressive positions, respectively. He also provides an in-depth analysis of Catholic Distributists’ responses to the labor unrest in Britain prior to World War I and later, in the 1930s, to the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War and the forces of fascism and communism.

This volume explores ways of understanding equality and non-discrimination. Drawing on the timeless logic of realist philosophy, Catholic morality, and Catholic social teaching, the authors seek to provide intellectual clarity on many controversial questions. The contributors are lawyers, philosophers, and theologians who offer rich insights into the modern crisis of social thought on equality. They examine various global assaults on human life, marriage, the family, and the natural dignity of masculinity and femininity. They seek to uphold the essential foundations of reality for the attainment of the common good. The contributors attempt to move beyond a positivist mentality in order to evaluate the first principles of the natural law in which all human law is grounded. The various chapters evaluate developments and application of theories of equality and non-discrimination in the history of Western thought; in modern European practice; in contemporary inter-American practice; in the Asian setting; in the Middle East and North Africa; and in the Catholic canon law tradition. The authors strive to restore a universally valid conception of equality and non-discrimination as understood within the Catholic tradition.

Forces as divergent as Jihadist Islam and Richard Dawkins are making religion more central to our lives today. Ian Linden has been an active lay member of the Catholic Church for many years and has witnessed firsthand such important movements as liberation theology. In this book, he charts the complex history of the forces of renewal unleashed by the Second Vatican Council and the counter-forces that gathered during the last half century. It focuses notably on changes that had wider historical importance than the internal evolution of the Roman Catholic Church as a religious organisation: war and peace, nationalism and democratisation in Africa, liberation theology, military dictatorships, guerrilla movements in Latin America, Africa and Philippines, interaction with communist governments, inculturation and relations with resurgent Islam. It views the Catholic Church as a unique example of a religious organisation responding in a unique way to globalisation. Most unusually it adopts a perspective from the global "South" pointing to the future axis of Catholicism in the 21st. century. The book weaves together the interaction of ideas and action, doctrine and life, in an innovative and interdisciplinary way.