Towards the Development of Criteria on Diversity in Unity for Official Catholic Teachings on Moral Issues

Introduction In Brazil, we have had various models of Christian conversion and evangelism, the first significant one being the acultural model. Extremely violent, it characterized the whole colonial period with its underlying motif: the Indians have to be like us. Indigenous culture was not regarded as having any human value of its own because it was considered to be the fruit of the devil. A second model brings us to the twentieth century; the protectionist model, the best example of which is the Indian Protection Service (SPI), based in part on the missionary work of the Jesuits. Protectionism allowed the indigenous people to live as they wished and on their own demarcated land, but it implied the need for parental control - first the missionaries and later government officials as well. The weakness in this model was that it did not recognize the identity and the maturity of the indigenous people, a fact that resulted in the creation of a judicial figure, a guardian - the Brazilian government - to oversee the indigenous communities. Nearer to us is the third model, which recognizes that the indigenous societies have their own rights and their own culture, that these peoples are not simply a blank page. At times this was characterized by the Old Testament Indian, i.e., that the indigenous communities would have their tradition, their own Old Testament, but it would be up to us to take the New Testament to them. This model sees pastoral work as evangelism, a preparation for an opportune moment when Christ's message can be heard and accepted by the indigenous community. It is primarily a model that criticizes the earlier models, accepts the indigenous values and allows time for the indigenous communities to assimilate or accept the proposal of the gospel, the New Testament. The problem with this last model, of the Indian Old Testament, is that it depends exclusively upon us - we are the ones bringing the New Testament. Not having direct access to the good news, the indigenous community must pass through an intermediary - the missionary or the church - to gain access to the new ideas. In other words, the truth is with us, we continue to be the holders of the truth to give to the other. Is there an alternative to these models? The Indigenous Missionary Council The Indigenous Missionary Council (CMI) started in the Catholic Church in Brazil in 1972, having its roots in the modernization process encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, and its application in Latin America. It grew up also making use of the new ideas of liberation theology and the accumulated experiences of indigenous missionary work, such as, for example, in OPAN (Operation Anchieta), which was founded in February 1969 and which brings together clerics and lay people, as well as anthropologists, CMI is neither a congregation, an order, nor a missionary institute. It is a compilation of all the missionaries - bishops, priests, nuns, monks, lay people - who work in the indigenous field. CMI proposes forms of action that have been elaborated and discussed in its assemblies; it provides help requested by the missionary bases but does not intervene in the pastoral policies of the respective dioceses, which remain under the responsibility of the local bishops. CMI contributes greatly to other Christians and to the indigenous peoples in acting to defend indigenous rights and in the rethinking of the theology of mission and evangelism. In this latter connection we could perhaps study the doctrine of the Trinity, which is extremely interesting for dialogue because it starts from the principle of diversity in unity - the different experience of the identities and not the abolition of the differences. In the doctrine of the Trinity, the differences between God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit continue, they are not abolished, but God is still one. Thus, this diversity in unity, which is a Christian doctrine, may serve as a starting point. …

Reviewed by: More than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church: Volume I: Voices of Our Times ed. by Christine Firer Hinze, J. Patrick Hornbeck, II, and: More than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church: Volume II: Inquiry, Thought, and Expression ed. by J. Patrick Hornbeck, II, Michael A. Norko Stefanie Knauss More than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church: Volume I: Voices of Our Times. Edited by Christine Firer Hinze and J. Patrick Hornbeck, II. Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 2014. 221pp. $26.00 More than a Monologue: Sexual Diversity and the Catholic Church: Volume II: Inquiry, Thought, and Expression. Edited by J. Patrick Hornbeck, II and Michael A. Norko. Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 2014. 247pp. $28.00. The two volumes, Voices of Our Times and Inquiry, Thought, and Expression, emerge from the More than a Monologue initiative, a four-part series of conferences held in two Catholic universities (Fordham and Fairfield Universities) and two nondenominational divinity schools (Union Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School), with the goal to promote an open conversation about sexual diversity and the Roman Catholic Church. In doing so, they attempt to go beyond the monologue paradigm of much official teaching and invite diverse voices into the conversation. Both the conferences and the two books, which include conference presentations as well as new material, are inspired by the Second Vatican Council, in particular by the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, as their titles show. Volume I responds to the call of the Council “to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our times” (GS 44, quoted in Vol. II, 4) by giving space to the experiences of people from a variety of contexts of how their lives have been affected by sexual diversity and the teachings of the Catholic Church on it. Volume II reflects the Council’s affirmation of the “freedom of inquiry, of thought, and of expression” (GS 62, quoted in Vol. II, 1) in collecting essays that analyze questions of homosexuality in the lives and ministry of priests and religious, same-sex marriage, and the place of homosexuality in church history and theological thought from a variety of perspectives. However, the focus on experience in the first volume, and analysis in the second, is not to be understood as a strict separation between these [End Page 93] two moments: in the first volume, experience is always reflected upon as a source of meaning and new direction, while in the second, analysis is grounded in experience. The “voices of our times” collected in Volume I are those of singles, families, couples, parents, children; persons working in pastoral ministry; students and teachers; voices from within and outside the church. They are diverse both with regard to their contexts and the experiences they recount, and with regard to their relationship with Catholic teaching on homosexuality and the Catholic Church. For example, Eve Tushnet, writes about how celibacy has provided her with a way to live her sexuality as a lesbian within the space of the church and in conformity with Catholic teaching; Thomas Gumbleton reflects on the pastoral needs of homosexuals departing from his own experiences when he discovered that his brother was gay; Kate Henley Averett writes of how she grew up Catholic but arrived at the point where she had to say “This place has become too foreign to me, and I can no longer call it home. And I’m so, so sad about that” (148). While the essays speak – to various degrees – of suffering, betrayal, sometimes exasperation, anger or sadness, they do this in a way that doesn’t close the possibility for future conversation. Instead they offer these varied experiences as a source for dialogue, or as the editors of Volume I put it: “the essays in this volume collectively aspire to tap into the richness of Catholicism, to address points of struggle and disagreement, and to contribute to its vitality and growth” (Vol. I, 8). The essays in Volume II offer systematic reflection, critique and arguments that can be used in the process of renewal and growth, such as Michael John Perry’s, Patricia Beattie Jung’s, and Lisa Sowle Cahill...

Holy Cross College, Woollahra, was established in the newly formed parish of Holy Cross by Cardinal Moran and the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy in 1908 as a select high school for middle class Catholic girls in the northern section of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Moran made it clear, and it was obvious that the sisters agreed, that the primary purpose of the College was the imparting of the Catholic Faith integrated with a suitable middle class education equal to, but preferably excelling, that provided by the secular state schools. This thesis is informed by two questions: Why did Holy Cross College close in 2001? Did the College achieve the objectives of the founding pioneers of the school, including Cardinal Moran? This strongly contextualised thesis demonstrates that for almost a century Holy Cross College was a microcosm of a complex world, one which was influenced by many factors, at local, state, federal and international levels. These factors, in the early days, included the rapid response of Catholic educators to Peter Board's 'New Syllabus', the first wave women's movement; and the dubious rationalising argument of Cardinal Moran to extract aid for Catholic schools from the state, which remains an ongoing problem for Catholic education in Australia. While the College in the 1920s was enjoying a growing reputation for highly successful music and academic tuition, it was challenged, through to the 1950s, by such factors as: Pope Pius XI's call to Catholic Action as interpreted for the Archdiocese of Sydney by Archbishop Kelly; participation in the various public displays of Catholic faith; the rigours of the Great Depression; and the dangers of being in an especially vulnerable location during World War Two. The community of the College which inhabited this complex 'mini' world was strongly bonded by common goals and values for the first fifty years of the school's existence.;This was a community which aspired to the fullest possible development of the spiritual, intellectual, cultural and physical attributes of girls through a Catholic education inspired by the Mercy Vision, but always constrained by the reality of finances, staffing, physical resources, and imposed authority. The somewhat idyllic existence of the College with its relatively small numbers and homely atmosphere was disrupted in the 1960s when Holy Cross was selected by the Sydney archdiocesan educational authorities to be a regional school. This study reveals the increasing complexity of the various levels at which authority was exerted over Holy Cross College as a regional school. Regionalisation was a central element in the Sydney Archdiocese's wide ranging plan to cope with the enormous strains on the Catholic educational system caused by such post-war challenges as the influx of Catholic migrants and the implementation of the Wyndham comprehensive secondary education scheme. There followed the success of the state aid campaigns and the challenges of Vatican II Council, movements which impacted upon the personal and communal lives of the women religious who staffed the College, as well as their students. Also impacting upon the College was the cultural revolution and the second wave women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout this study the geographical setting of the school in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and the region's socio-economic characteristics are explored and emerge as significant factors in both the creation and maintenance of a unique school culture and the decline of Holy Cross College in the 1990s. Finally this decline is mapped in terms of the erosion of the College's unique identity, which was forged by religious, cultural, geographical, political and pedagogical forces, and eroded by a complex of factors including demography, centralised authority, class, and international economic downturns.;It is concluded that the founding sisters and Moran would have mixed and nuanced responses to the question: Did the College achieve the objectives of the founding pioneers?

How do the Catholic Schools Consultants through their leadership and relationship with Principals influence the outcomes of Catholic systemic schools in New South Wales (NSW)? This research question has been of considerable interest to the professional communities of Catholic educators. Throughout NSW there are eleven diocesan Catholic school systems, each led by a Director assisted by senior field officers called Consultants, the equivalent position of Area superintendents or inspectors in other school systems. The leadership of these Consultants is considered critical for the effectiveness of the school systems especially through their influence on and with Principals. Within this survey research study, the total population of Consultants and Principals was invited to participate, and 45 Consultants (90%) and 365 Principals (76%) responded. The research study was based on the assumption that a 'classical' view of leadership should be augmented by a more complex, interactive view of leadership as relationship that influenced outcomes in school systems. The study was operationalized in three dimensions. Leadership was described by ten variables, derived from Sashkin's (1998) Visionary Leadership Theory. The relationship between Consultant and Principals was posited as a composite of two variables, Interpersonal Relation and Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, that are viewed as explanatory, mediating variables. Three selected outcome variables are posited - Educational Outcomes, School Outcomes and Spiritual Outcomes. The fifteen variables so described were developed and/or validated for this study using confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, the impact of three demographic background factors of gender, school type, and years of networking association between Consultant and Principals on the main variables in the study was examined. A mediated - effects survey research design was used.;Survey questionnaires were sent from the local Catholic Education Office to each volunteer Consultant and to her/his associated network of Principals on a confidential basis and returned directly to the researcher. At no stage did the researcher know the identity of the respondents. Data analysis methods included comparative means analysis of Consultants' and Principals' perceptions of the variables; multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling to examine the associations between variables; MANOVA analysis to examine demographic background factors; and finally some descriptive analysis of survey data to provide validation or further insights. The study results showed that both Consultants and Principals agreed that the Consultants demonstrated visionary leadership as defined by Sashkin (1998) although there were significant differences on seven leadership factors. There was high level agreement that Consultants and Principals exhibited a shared mindset, described as Shared Catholic Leadership Mindset, and outstanding interpersonal relationships. Findings about the associations between variables showed different results for Principals and Consultants. The 'Principals' model suggested that the two relationship variables acted as mediators between some of the ten leadership variables and the three outcome variables. On the other hand, the 'Consultants' model suggested that neither of the two relationship variables acted as mediators, but that only two leadership variables, Capable Management and Creative Leadership, had any influence on Outcomes. There were no significant differences on results due to gender, school type or years of networking association for either Principals or Consultants.;These results, supplemented by qualitative findings, led to the conclusion that there was a need for system policy makers to reconceptualise the leadership of such Consultants to emphasise the importance of the shared mindset, and the synergistic element in the relationship between Consultant and Principals. There was a recommendation that further research replicate this study with other Catholic, Government and independent education systems. The use of structural equation modelling analysis in similar future research was also recommended.

The decline in religious in Australia in the 35 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council has brought an associated withdrawal of religious from the staffs and governance of Catholic schools. Lay women and men have replaced religious principals, but the principalship has not changed sufficiently to accommodate the new life realities of lay people in that role. This article argues that there has been an emerging recognition in Church documents on Catholic education of Catholic education as a ministry of the laity, but such documents are largely silent about the role, ministry, and vocation of lay principals in Catholic schools. The article calls for a statement from the Congregation for Catholic education on the leadership of lay principals in Catholic schools which acknowledges the importance of this vital emerging lay ministry within the Church and which recognizes that lay people are shaping anew this administrative role, distinct from the quasi-monastic practice of preceding generations of religious principals.

The Catholic Diocese of Lismore is situated in the north-east coastal area of New South Wales, Australia. Catholic education in this diocese is based on the premise that school and parish work together in partnership for the personal and spiritual development of students. This premise relies on the assumption that teachers and clergy share a common view of the mission of Catholic schools. However, some recent studies highlight a lack of shared vision and indicate that teachers and clergy frequently have different expectations of what Catholic schools should be. This study examines similarities and differences in perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools among the teachers and clergy in the Lismore Diocese. It identifies areas in which there is a significant lack of congruence. The study also explores the relationships and the quality of partnerships between teachers and clergy and identifies issues that are potential sources of tension. Furthermore, it considers implications for change. Self-completion questionnaires were given to the target population which consisted of all the full time teachers in Catholic schools and all the clergy on active duties in the Lismore Diocese at the beginning of 1997. Subsequent semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the clergy in the group and with thirty two teachers chosen through random sampling. Data yielded little evidence of sustained dialogue between teachers and clergy on issues related to the religious orientation of Catholic schools. Although there were some similarities in the teachers' and priests' perceptions of the religious dimension of the mission of Catholic schools, there was a considerable variation in their perceptions of priorities for these schools. Some of these differences could be linked to teachers' individual relationships with the institutional Catholic Church.;Teachers and priests were found to differ significantly in their understanding of the effectiveness of Catholic secondary schools. The study also found that ecclesiastical language used to describe the mission of Catholic schools is not always understood by teachers who work principally out of an educational context. Moreover, the study found that relationships between teachers and clergy were often hindered by poor communication, lack of clarity with regard to roles and expectations and very different perceptions of the structures and practice of authority. Many teachers believed that clergy were 'out of touch' and unrealistic in their expectations of schools and teachers. Many priests, on the other hand, considered that teachers had generally lost a sense of 'vocation' and religious motivation for their involvement in Catholic schools. Priests were generally more interested in forming partnerships with schools than were teachers in forming partnerships with parish communities. The perception that secondary school communities did not relate to parishes as well as their primary counterparts was widespread among clergy. This study makes several recommendations for the improvement of communication and dialogue between teachers and priests. It also recommends that similar research be carried out in dioceses where the parish-school authority structure differs. As part of this study the initial findings were presented to a significant gathering of clergy and school principals. The resulting discussion led to the proposal of strategies for improvement in communication and partnership. In this way the applied research in the study became an agency of change itself, working in the direction of a better culture of communication and collaboration regarding the religious mission of Catholic schools.

The Politics of Catholic Education in Zambia: 1964-2001

Gerard Manley Hopkins rarely recorded disagreements with statements published works John Henry Newman. The small number cases are extant probably highlights his normal agreement with Newman or an inhibition toward dissenting from a revered figure who had facilitated his reception into the Catholic Church. This lack expressed differences did not arise from an incomplete or experience Newman's work which he knew well during a period some twenty-five years, from his days at Highgate to his death Dublin. (1) During the years after 1864 he remained, Newman's words 1888, among the cardinal's friends and well wishers (Hopkins, Further Letters Gerard Manley Hopkins 414; Newman, Letters and Diaries 31:246). Five instances disagreement, possibly all are recorded, date from 1878 to 1887. Three these concern literary matters. The first is a blunder Hopkins decried a letter to Canon Richard Dixon: Newman's instancing the gain smoothness and correctness versification Robert Southey showed over John Milton (Hopkins, Correspondence 13). (2) In the second incident, which he mentioned a letter to A. W. M. Baillie, Hopkins found Newman guilty of a usage clearly mistaken when employing the word scope (Further Letters 284). Seven months later he paradoxically informed Coventry Patmore Newman did not know what writing prose (Further Letters 380). These differences opinion, incidental remarks letters, are presented atone varies from philological precision, charming disbelief, and rhetorical analysis. Hopkins maintains his certitude each case, but there is always an implied regret about disagreeing with so great a literary figure and so respected a person. The two remaining disagreements, which are the subject this essay, are more intellectually serious and personally meaningful for both authors, who have had an abiding influence on the nineteenth century's understanding Christianity and literature. These two disagreements are interrelated, not least all, by the circumstance Hopkins addressed both them to Coventry Patmore, a recognized older poet and, like Hopkins, a convert from Anglicanism. Their friendship had begun 1883 and acquired a level understanding made for greater frankness discussing Newman who, after his long career, was the revered veteran the Roman Catholic cause Great Britain. Hopkins, because the values he shared with Patmore, was less inhibited criticizing Newman's opinions, which Hopkins treated more cautiously with his two other correspondents: the agnostic Baillie and the Anglican Canon Dixon. Another element the criticisms Hopkins forwarded to Patmore was his uncertainty the positions he found wanting Newman were actually the ones Newman espoused. After all, Hopkins could be certain his argumentation but hesitant after twenty years reading and reflecting on presentations Newman had made before Hopkins had been born. These had never been systematically revised although often reprinted. Hence, the two disagreements to be examined, the debate is not always with Newman but rather with a position seems to be present his writings. Hopkins knew from experience how the understanding a moral or philosophical issue might change by degrees the transitions both he and Newman had made the course their experiences as Anglicans and Catholics. An Intolerable Doctrine The doctrine Hopkins unequivocally rejected concerned a moral principle which, if Newman did not actually countenance, he left Hopkins with the superficial impression doing so (Hopkins, Further Letters 341-42). This assertion on Hopkins's part seems, at its strongest, to defend Newman on the grounds he expressed himself inadequately on a moral issue, which led to intolerable conclusions the practical order. Hopkins locates the offensive doctrine Newman in his well known sermon about Demas and concludes it implicitly maintains that a man may somehow mortally by no particular mortal sin Hopkins's citation the source presumably was adequate for his correspondent, Coventry Patmore, and for other contemporaries 1883, even though it does not indicate the title the sermon or the collection which it appeared. …

Sex and the Catholic Church in Guatemala

In the interwar period of the 20th century, the formation of the national education system took place in Lithuania. The Catholic Church sought to actively participate in the creation of this system in order to consolidate the principles of the organization of its educational system. The political regimes in interwar Lithuania sought to create a unified national education system, and the Catholic Church sought to make the educational system in line with its principles in the field of education. The article reviews how the Catholic Church and political regimes competed for dominant influence in the field of education in Lithuania during the interwar period (1918–1940). It is said that the struggle for influence in youth education was most clearly manifested in the field of secondary education (higher than primary education), because the position of the Catholic Church in this field was the strongest: Catholic educational societies had created a network of private schools. The Catholic Church and the Christian Democrats defending its position held the view that only a confessional school that nurtures the Christian spirit is suitable for Catholic children. Therefore, the state is required to finance private Catholic schools that meet the educational ideals of Catholic society. Catholic public figures and Christian Democrat politicians proposed to implement the principle of cultural autonomy in the country’s education system, which would guarantee the financing of private Catholic schools. During the period of Lithuanian parliamentarism (before the coup d’état of December 17, 1926), the position of the Catholic Church in the field of education clashed most strongly with the viewpoint of left-wing political forces. The leftist political forces sought to entrust the state with the right to determine educational ideals. The idea of a denominational school was alien to the left wing – they considered it an internal concern of the religious community itself, and the introduction of compulsory religious education in schools contradicted the fundamental values of the left-wing activists. After December 17, 1926 the nationalist political regime, established during the coup d’état, was guided by the rule that the monopoly of education must be in the hands of the state – only it has the exclusive right to educate its citizens. These attitudes were reflected in the education reform carried out in the mid-forties, which not only unified the educational chain up to high school, but also demonstrated the government’s unwavering political course towards the monopolization of the educational system. The monopolization of education by the state brought the nationalist government into conflict with the Catholic Church, which, defending its rights in the education system, demanded the implementation of the principle of cultural autonomy. The government sought to monopolize education and ended this process in 1938, the year the new Constitution of Lithuania was adopted.

This study explored the interface between the leadership of Catholic schools and the legal framework of the social/cultural context of Australian Society. Specifically, the study investigated the legal issues impacting on Catholic schools, principals' understandings of these legal issues and the sources used in gaining these understandings. The congruency between these understandings and the current interpretations of areas of the law were also examined, along with the influence legal issues have on principals; in particular, their perceptions of how these legal issues relate to carrying out their leadership roles aligned with the characteristics and ethos of the Catholic school. In this overall context, the influence of a number of variables such as school complexity, location, and primary and secondary school environments was also examined. The study commenced with an examination of the development of Catholic schools within the Australian social/cultural context, an exploration of leadership as it relates to Catholic schools and a survey of the literature indicating the scope and nature of the legal matters impacting on schools within the Australian legal framework. To gather data relevant to the purposes of the study, a Survey Questionnaire was constructed and distributed to principals of all systemic Catholic schools administered by the Brisbane Catholic Education Centre. The quantitative and qualitative data provided via this instrument was supplemented and corroborated by information gathered through discussions, observations, and reference to documentation and records. The findings of the study confirmed that Catholic schools were involved with a wide range of legal issues, involvement being more pronounced in some areas than others, and like all legal issues within the Australian social/cultural context, those impacting on schools were subject to regular renewal and development.;In relation to the latter, participants identified emerging areas of the law which were starting to have an impact on their schools. Principals' overall understandings of current interpretations of legal issues were not of a high standard. However, some understandings, particularly relating to statue law were more accurate than understandings of common law issues. Principals used a wide range of sources to gain legal understandings, and interactions with fellow principals and personnel within the Brisbane Catholic Education System who supported and supervised principals, featured prominently. However, access for principals to designated legal practitioners for advice on legal matters was a need revealed. Involvement of principals in formal and less formal professional learning experiences relating to legal matters was limited, and participation did not have a significant influence on developing more accurate understandings of legal issues. Nevertheless, the need for continued personal and professional learning with regard to legal issues was highlighted by this study, especially considering the continued renewal and development of the law, and the stress created by the lack of legal understandings. The findings indicated legal matters were having a large impact on Catholic schools; 90% of participants experienced stress associated with legal matters, and 70% saw this as an increasing phenomena. While a number of variables inter-relate to form a cumulative effect contributing to stress, participants ranked the most prominent source of stress as lack of legal knowledge. The impact of legal matters was not confined to addressing legal matters per se, but a constant threat of legalism overshadowing principals in their leadership roles. Overall, there was a high compatibility between the ethos of the Catholic school and the resolutions reached, and the process used in coming to a resolution of legal matters.;However, participants were more confident in their perceptions of a high compatibility with the resolutions reached than with the processes used.No one variable examined, had an overall significant influence on the understandings, involvement and impact of legal issues on the leadership of Catholic schools. However, a number of significant relationships were identified with particular aspects of the study. Surprisingly, the study did not reveal a significant relationship between the length of time spent as a principal in a Catholic school and the accuracy of understandings of legal issues impacting on schools. It was suggested that the development of principals' understandings of legal issues could be closely related to the continued personal and professional learning and growth of leaders within Catholic schools, particularly within School Leadership Teams. Suggestions to support this growth and learning were offered as part of the overall development of leadership within Catholic schools.

Religious individuals and communities have been at the heart of civil society and played a crucial role in the social and historical sphere of twentieth-century Korea. In particular, the Catholic Church in Korea had been widely credited for its dedication to justice for the weak and to democracy. However, it is undeniable that the Catholic Church in South Korea has lost its social influence. Indeed, over the past decade there has been a significant drop in the number of Catholics and the Church, once a pillar of civil society, has continuously lost its social position. While there are various possible explanations for this circumstance, a satisfactory one can be found in its recent past history. During the 1970s and 1980s the Church was the symbol of social and political resistance, and there was a lay leader and activist, who played a significant background role. Admittedly, Jang Ilsoon (1924-1994) is a little-known figure and thinker within Christian communities in contemporary Korea, but his teachings are far more influential among non-believers than Catholics regardless of their faith and political stance. The rationale is that he has been known to be a social activist or thinker rather than a Catholic lay leader. This is the first study to identify him as a Catholic activist and religious thinker. It aims to make an original contribution to growing interest in him and his ideological contributions to modern Korean. To scrutinise his socio-religious thought and life, this study grapples with his biographical facts and ideas, focusing on his interaction with the Catholic Church in twentieth-century Korea. As an introduction to his religious thought, this study focuses its religious background to explain how his thinking is shaped by three distinct religious ideas: Donghak, Seon Buddhism and Catholic teachings, and examines the influence of these religious ideas to grasp his thought and to understand his socio-political action. This study also discusses the way in which his religious idea can contribute to the recent pastoral realities of the Church.

Although the Roman Catholic Church claims historical continuity with Jesus Christ himself and regards the subsequent Christian development as its own, it acquired distinctive features in matters of doctrine, worship, ethics, spirituality, and organization since the Reformation in opposition to the Protestant churches (and to a lesser extent also to the Orthodox church since 1054). “Roman Catholic theology” refers to the doctrinal development that has taken place in the Roman Catholic Church from the sixteenth century (commonly referred to as the Counter-Reformation) until today. Since it is characteristic of Roman Catholic theology to accord a special authority to the official teachings of the church (the magisterium), especially of ecumenical councils and bishops (in particular the bishop of Rome and his immediate collaborators), this article begins with an exposition of the magisterium's teaching on eschatology. Next, it expounds the eschatology of some of the most influential contemporary Roman Catholic theologians such as Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Ladislaus Boros, Edward Schillebeeckx, and Joseph Ratzinger. It also discusses Catholic official teachings on eternal life and contemporary Catholic eschatologies.

In the spring of 2013, the Division of University Mission and Ministry at Boston College undertook a new initiative. Launched by James Burns, then a researcher in the Division (now Dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College), and Jack Butler, S.J., vice president for University Mission and Ministry, the Boston College Roundtable began with the hope of drawing scholars from different disciplines into a common conversation about the distinctiveness of a Catholic approach to higher education. The Roundtable brought together fourteen scholars from different Catholic colleges and universities in the United States, representing different types of institutions as well as different founding religious orders, dioceses, or bishops. Members of the first cohort were midto late-career tenured faculty from different disciplines who in some cases also held administrative appointments. They were active researchers and writers in their respective fields. While there is no specific requirement that participants be Catholic, all voluntarily responded to our invitation because of a love for Catholic higher education. All had a nuanced, theologically informed understanding of mission that deepened the substance of the conversation. Participants’ experiences of the Roundtable were enhanced, they report, by the sharing of meals, liturgies, and libations in an environment of warm hospitality at Boston College’s Connors Retreat and Conference Center in Dover, Massachusetts. Participants were invited to discuss the mission of Catholic higher education in the modern/postmodern context: to inquire how institutions rooted in the Catholic

Considerations of moral problems in palliative medicine often deal with extreme situations. This study identified moral issues arising in routine palliative medicine. Their relevance for the education of European general practitioners is assessed. Consecutive consultations of cancer patients with incurable disease were recorded in three outpatient clinics and one general practice in Belgium. Moral issues were identified by qualitative analysis of verbal transcripts of 30 of these consultations using the grounded-theory approach. The relevance of these issues for medical education was assessed by interviewing one educator of general practitioners from each of the 15 European Union states. Three core categories of moral issues were identified: telling the truth, patient control versus medical dominance, and handling the patient's life-world. The practical relevance of these issues was recognized by the educators. The suggested educational methods to deal with these topics were all active learning processes in small-group settings but varied otherwise. The moral issues identified in day-to-day palliative medicine may complement the problems evoked in the literature dealing with more extreme situations. An effort to study the appropriate way for medical education to deal with these topics may be indicated.