Description
Book SynopsisThe Catholic Church has a tradition of bridge-building, one founded on Christ and that began with the Apostle St. John and the convert St. Paul. It helped bridge the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman worlds. Later, it helped civilize the tribes that overran Europe. Limits appeared in the Church''s bridge-building ability when Europe was confronted with Islam, and later with the secular mentality that arose in Western Europe, as well as in its encounters with China, India, and Africa. Steps Toward Vatican III examines the present dilemmas facing the Church and humanity in an age of globalization that daily brings people of various backgrounds into close proximity. It offers a middle-way to face such issues. It develops a global ethics and a global spirituality that can be incarnated within alert, loving, small Christian communities, as well as in the larger Church structures directed from the Vatican. It builds on Vatican II to find paths that may help bring peace and understanding in the world by a sympathetic evaluation of different world traditions. Such sympathy must be informed by the conversions that Jesus and the Church have demanded of their followers.
Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 I: Challenges for the Church in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 3 The Challenges of a Syncretist new Age to the Church's Mission Chapter 4 The Challenges of Secularity, Migration, and Globalization Chapter 5 The Challenges of Islam and Religious Fundamentalism Part 6 II: Is the Church Out of Touch with the Modern World? Chapter 7 Scripture and Social Justice Issues Chapter 8 The Church's Resistance and Openness to Modernization Part 9 III: Strategies to Help us Bridge our Divides Chapter 10 Interfaith and Crosscultural Implications of Globalization Chapter 11 Historically-Informed Ecumenical Strategies Chapter 12 Communities Striving for Social Justice and World Unity Part 13 Appendix: Select list of Catholic Reform Organizations in the United States Part 14 Notes Part 15 Bibliography Part 16 Index Part 17 About the Authors
