Introduction catholicism

Lawrence S. Cunningham0521846072, 9780521846073, 0521608554, 9780521608558

The Vatican. The Inquisition. Contraception. Celibacy. Apparitions and miracles. Plots and scandals. The Catholic Church is seldom out of the news. But what do its one billion adherents really believe, and how do they put their beliefs into practice in worship, the family, and society? This down-to-earth account goes back to the early Christian creeds to uncover the roots of modern Catholic thinking. It avoids getting bogged down in theological technicalities, and throws light on aspects of the Church’s institutional structure and liturgical practice that even Catholics can find baffling: why go to confession? How are people made saints? What is ‘infallible’ about the Pope? Topics addressed include: • scripture and tradition • sacraments and prayer • popular piety • personal and social morality • reform, mission, and interreligious dialogue Lawrence Cunningham, a theologian, prize-winning writer and university teacher, provides an overview of Catholicism today which will be indispensable for undergraduates and lay study groups.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Contents……Page 7
Illustrations……Page 8
Preface……Page 9
Acknowledgments……Page 13
Introduction……Page 15
The history of a word……Page 17
How Catholics understand catholicity……Page 22
Catholicity closely considered……Page 23
Catholicism described……Page 26
One further distinction……Page 28
Catholicism contrasted……Page 29
Catholicism from the bottom up……Page 30
The Catholic substance……Page 33
FURTHER READING……Page 36
Introduction……Page 37
Beginnings to Constantine……Page 38
From Constantine to Gregory the Great……Page 41
Gregory VII and church reform……Page 43
The Gregorian Reforms to Innocent III……Page 44
To the Avignon papacy and Great Schism……Page 45
The Great Schism……Page 47
Renaissance popes to the Reformation……Page 48
The popes and the Protestant Reformation……Page 49
The seventeenth century……Page 50
Towards the French Revolution……Page 51
The nineteenth century: The end of the Papal States……Page 52
The recreation of Vatican City State……Page 54
Pius XII and John XXIII: A study in contrasts……Page 56
Continuity and change in the papacy……Page 59
FURTHER READING……Page 62
Introduction……Page 63
An approach to history……Page 64
Martyrs and martyrdom……Page 65
Ascetics and monks……Page 68
Pilgrims……Page 72
Scholars……Page 75
Missionaries……Page 78
Mystics……Page 81
Saints……Page 83
FURTHER READING……Page 88
Introduction……Page 89
The evolution of the Catholic church building……Page 90
The theological meaning of architecture……Page 95
The church building as pedagogy……Page 98
The church building expanded……Page 101
Trajectories for the future……Page 102
Time……Page 103
Some problems considered……Page 109
FURTHER READING……Page 112
Introduction……Page 114
The concept of sacrament……Page 115
Baptism……Page 116
Confirmation……Page 119
Eucharist as a symbolic meal……Page 120
The eucharist as sacrifice……Page 121
The eucharist as liturgy……Page 123
Real presence……Page 124
Penance/reconciliation……Page 125
Anointing of the sick……Page 128
Holy orders……Page 129
Matrimony……Page 130
Sacramentality……Page 132
Sacramentals……Page 134
FURTHER READING……Page 137
Introduction……Page 138
A creed emerges……Page 140
Councils and creeds……Page 142
The pope and the rule of faith……Page 147
The scriptures and the rule of faith……Page 151
The development of doctrine……Page 154
Faith and reason……Page 157
FURTHER READING……Page 160
Introduction……Page 161
An integrated Catholic life……Page 162
Spirituality and social justice……Page 163
Schools of spirituality……Page 164
Asceticism……Page 168
The discipline of prayer……Page 169
Almsgiving……Page 170
Mystical prayer……Page 171
The devotional life……Page 173
The study of spirituality……Page 175
The Blessed Virgin and the saints……Page 177
Special devotions……Page 178
Feasts……Page 179
The Blessed Virgin Mary and Vatican II……Page 180
Catholic spirituality and world religions……Page 182
FURTHER READING……Page 185
Introduction……Page 186
Constantine and beyond……Page 189
Ireland……Page 190
Britain……Page 191
The Slavs……Page 192
The High Middle Ages……Page 193
The Age of Exploration……Page 194
The nineteenth century……Page 198
The twentieth century and Vatican II……Page 200
After Vatican II……Page 202
The new evangelization……Page 204
Final considerations……Page 205
FURTHER READING……Page 207
Introduction……Page 209
The legacy of Constantine……Page 210
The Gregorian Reform……Page 212
Reformations Protestant and Catholic……Page 216
Reaction and reform……Page 221
Towards the Second Vatican Council……Page 224
Vatican II……Page 226
Post-conciliar reform……Page 228
The dynamics of reform……Page 230
FURTHER READING……Page 232
Introduction……Page 233
The Early Church……Page 236
The Penitentials and their influence……Page 238
Morality and theology: The case of Thomas Aquinas……Page 240
The modern period……Page 242
The present situation……Page 245
The moral teaching of the Church……Page 246
The dignity of the human person……Page 247
The human community……Page 248
The Decalogue……Page 249
Morality and the Christian life……Page 250
FURTHER READING……Page 254
Introduction……Page 255
The new millennium……Page 256
The reform of the Roman curia……Page 258
The crisis in ministry……Page 260
Secularization……Page 262
Polarization……Page 264
Issues external to the Church……Page 266
Christian ecumenism……Page 267
Judaism……Page 269
Islam……Page 270
Hinduism and Buddhism……Page 271
Contextual theology……Page 272
Theologies of religion……Page 276
The Catholic Church and the contemporary world……Page 278
FURTHER READING……Page 281
Introduction……Page 283
Written resources……Page 284
Books……Page 285
Book series……Page 288
Index……Page 290