Catholic Orthodoxy Research Articles

Evangelization in Terms of Indigenous Latin-American Theology

Indigenous theology, which appeared in Latin America in the mid-1980s, practiced by the followers of Christ, wants to serve the dialogue between native religions and Christianity. It has its method, its subject is the faithful people, and the main object of reflection is the spiritual experience accumulated in native cultures since pre-Columbian times. Indigenous theology wants to contribute to evangelization attracting people and to the authentic inculturation of the faith in areas inhabited by native Amerindians. An analysis of the texts written by Indigenous theologians leads to the discovery of how this theology is practiced, and especially what its view of evangelization is. Despite its shortcomings and doubtful approaches from the perspective of Catholic orthodoxy, indigenous theology can enliven the Church-wide discussion on evangelization and contribute to its dynamism in modern times.

How did a Lutheran astronomer get converted into a Catholic authority? The Jesuits and their reception of Tycho Brahe in Portugal.

This article explores the complex process of integrating Tycho Brahe's theories into the Jesuit intellectual framework through focusing on the international community of professors who taught mathematics at the College of Saint Anthony (Colégio de Santo Antão), Lisbon, during the first half of the seventeenth century. Historians have conceived the reception of the Tychonic system as a straightforward process motivated by the developments of early modern astronomy. Nevertheless, this paper argues that the cultural politics of the Counter-Reformation Church curbed the reception of Tycho Brahe within the Jesuit milieu. Despite supporting the Tychonic geo-heliocentric system, which they explicitly conceived of as a 'compromise' between the ancient Ptolemy and the modern Copernicus, and making recourse to some of the cosmological ideas produced in Tycho's Protestant milieu, the Jesuits strove to confine the authority of the Lutheran astronomer to the domain of mathematics. Philosophy was expected to remain the realm of Catholic orthodoxy. Thus, while Tycho Brahe entered the pantheon of 'Jesuit' authorities, he nonetheless was not granted the absolute status of intellectual authority. This case demonstrates how the impact of confessionalization reached well beyond the formal processes of science censorship.

Faith of Our Fathers: A Brief History of Catholic Traditionalism in the United States, From Triumph to Traditionis Custodes by Stuart Chessman

Reviewed by: Faith of Our Fathers: A Brief History of Catholic Traditionalism in the United States, From Triumph to Traditionis Custodes by Stuart Chessman William Dinges Faith of Our Fathers: A Brief History of Catholic Traditionalism in the United States, From Triumph to Traditionis Custodes. By Stuart Chessman. Brooklyn, NY: Angelico Press, 2022. 138pp. $17.95. In July of 2021 Pope Francis released Traditionis Custodes (TC), a motu proprio that, while not a complete suppression of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite (Latin Tridentine Mass [LTM]), nevertheless restored the status quo ante. The document abrogated the earlier norms, instructions, and permissions of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and made usage of the LTM much more difficult. Owing to pastoral concerns along with pressure from the traditionalist consecration threats of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Pope John Paul II re-instated the LTM in 1984, although under strictly controlled conditions. In 2007, Pope Benedict gave what amounted to carte blanche approval for the LTM by way of his apostolic letter, Summorum Pontificum (SP). Pope Francis’s 2021 directive followed a survey of the world’s bishops indicating that use of the LTM had been “exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences and encourage disagreements,” all of which exposed the church to the “peril of division.” Are Catholicism’s neuralgic “liturgical wars” now at an end? Think again. Stuart Chessman’s short-order history echoes other traditionalist publications promoting restoration of the LTM to its “full integral expression,” while deprecating the Second Vatican Council, pillaring Pope Francis, and bemoaning the post conciliar church’s alleged “path of destruction.” Although clearly written, Faith of Our Fathers hardly passes as a history of traditionalism in any academic sense of the term. The coverage is a grab-bag of personal reflections on the blog of the [End Page 87] Society of St. Hugh of Cluny of which the author is a “leader.” The narrative consists of ten short chapters (blogs) and an appendix with several select documents expressing previous episcopal concerns surrounding use of the LTM, requirements for meeting the 1984 indult Mass stipulations, along with a short bibliography of traditionalist sources. Footnotes are sparse, unsubstantiated generalizations abound, and the author’s focus is confined to East Coast traditionalist activities, although peppered with occasional references to similar efforts abroad. Overall, Chessman gets things right regarding the enduring—and growing—interest in the LTM, especially among some younger laity and clergy alike. He correctly observes SP’s role in vindicating the LTM restorationist cause and correctly notes how social media and the blogosphere have amplified these efforts. Chessman also acknowledges Archbishop Lefebvre’s early role in pressuring the Vatican’s reinstating the LTM. He also attests to the way Pope Francis’s papacy has alienated conservative Catholics whose earlier initiatives weighed heavily toward upholding papal authority. Chessman acknowledges traditionalism’s aspirations beyond “saving the Mass,” notably the movement’s push for a full and “integral” expression of Catholicism. He notes the negative impact of the corona virus on the spread of traditionalism, infighting among traditionalists themselves, and the fact that TC will likely further intensify liturgical conflict. As with other traditionalist literature, Faith of Our Fathers draws no attention to the historical location of traditionalist Catholic dissent within America’s contemporary polarized environment, especially regarding the affinities between right-wing religion in general and the attendant concerns over globalist agendas, the woke establishment, the Great Reset, conspiracy theories, and an array of tropes surrounding what has allegedly been lost or stolen from our cultural, social, and political past—in this case, the LTM. Nor is there any serious discussion of the theological and ecclesial implications of a movement claiming the high ground of Catholic orthodoxy while simultaneously rejecting in one manner or another what the church understands as the reform imperative of a Holy Spirit-inspired ecumenical council. Faith of our Fathers would be of limited help in classroom settings with students who had little or no background knowledge of the traditionalist phenomenon and its various mutations since Vatican II. The book should, however, be on the radar of those tracking Catholicism’s liturgical wars, or of anyone doubting Pope Francis’s concern...

The Limits of Philology: Antonio Agustín and Textual Criticism of Canon Law in Tridentine Europe

This article examines Antonio Agustín's (1517–86) philological and historical treatise “De Emendatione Gratiani” (1587). Canon law became a key controversial issue in Catholic-Protestant confessional arguments in the sixteenth century, but its convoluted history also posed a challenge within Catholic orthodoxy itself. This essay discusses how Agustín, working to improve the text of Gratian's “Decretum” (ca. 1140), navigated between his own scholarly integrity and the requirements of Tridentine reforms. The focus on canon law uncovers rarely acknowledged connections between Renaissance philology and ecclesiastical scholarship, and opens a new perspective on the entanglement of humanism and religion, confessional conflicts, and erudition.

Glaube(n) im Disput: Neuere Forschungen zu den altgläubigen Kontroversisten des Reformationszeitalters ed. by Karl-Heinz Braun, Wilbirgis Klaiber, and Christoph Moos

Reviewed by: Glaube(n) im Disput: Neuere Forschungen zu den altgläubigen Kontroversisten des Reformationszeitalters ed. by Karl-Heinz Braun, Wilbirgis Klaiber, and Christoph Moos Ralph Keen Glaube(n) im Disput: Neuere Forschungen zu den altgläubigen Kontroversisten des Reformationszeitalters. Edited by Karl-Heinz Braun, Wilbirgis Klaiber, and Christoph Moos. (Münster: Aschendorff Verlag. 2020. Pp. ix, 404. €68,00. ISBN: 9783402116074.) This volume of proceedings from a 2017 conference brings together research on the multifaceted nature of Catholic resistance to the Reformation. Attempts in the first half of the sixteenth century to respond to evangelical challenges sought to emphasize a unity and coherence in a tradition that beneath the surface was varie-gated and contentious. The papers in this volume are the products of close reading in little-known sources, guided by an awareness that “believing is a communicative process” (p. 7). In an introductory essay, Peter Waller describes the evolution of the medieval disputatio from its beginnings in early Scholasticism to its expansion, beyond the academic form, to a mode of engagement with Judaism and Islam as well as a genre within Humanism. Karl-Heinz Braun offers an incisive critique of modern conceptions of terms like “mystical’ or “Augustinian” with a reminder that they were less clear in the sixteenth century than they seem after a half-millennium. Kenneth Appold’s paper on the relationship of disputation and consensus provides valuable nuance to the tension between difference and unity, especially in the 1540s; while Kai Bremer’s close analysis of the debate about the authorities Luther invoked in An den Adel shows how that dispute shaped later controversies, especially the extent to which these involved the authority of the tradition. A section dedicated to contexts includes Axel Gotthard on the political priorities behind protecting the Roman Church and the specific threats to order that the Diets sought to counter, a discussion that raises the question of whether religious dissension leads to political disintegration. The role of the University of Paris in setting (and enforcing) norms for Catholic orthodoxy is ably detailed by Andreas Sohm’s depiction of the tensions among the many colleges and between many of them and the Sorbonne. Sohm’s discussion is followed by Peter Walter on the question of the priority of the theological tradition over the authority of the papacy (and, by implication, hierarchical order) as sources of authority. The section on patronage and professional networks includes Gabriele Jancke on the social relations that sustained Johannes Cochlaeus and his work and that illustrate what she calls Konfliktkultur, a world defined by its affinities and antagonisms. Christoph Moos offers a similar contextualization for Johannes Fabri, bishop of Vienna and the friend and patron of a wide circle of humanists, including Erasmus. These two papers are followed by Markus Wriedt on networks of the learned during this period, defined both in printing affiliations and by geography, with attention to theology (especially the controversial form) as its own community of discourse. Wilbirgis Klaiber’s discussion of the Franciscan Johannes Nas shows us a controversialist’s self-presentation to his readers. Women rarely figure in histories of polemical theology, but Anne Conrad describes the work of nuns and lay [End Page 200] teachers as part of the polemical enterprise, the Orders being their own networks and schools. Just as composers of Protestant pamphlets frequently relied on images, so did the Catholic resistance, though on the larger scale of church décor. Andreas Tacke describes confessionalizing elements in pre-Tridentine church iconography fostered by a patronage system of dukes and bishops. Theoretical perspective is offered by Bent Jörgensen’s discussion of confessional self-fashioning and his depiction of the tension between the “old” and the “new” faithful as reflected in pejorative epithets, many meant to delegitimize the Reformers as unchristian. Defining the old faith was a point of contention within the Church, as Martin Hille demonstrates in his study of the polemical exchange between Georg Nigrinus and Kaspar Franck the Younger about pastoral duties. The definition of the Church is the topic of a comparison by Thomas Dietrich on the ecclesiologies of Luther and Bellarmine. A final essay by Herman Selderhuis on directions for future research...

Evangelizing the Church: Soteriology, Liberation, and Transformative Action in Graham Greene’s The Honorary Consul

ABSTRACT Scholarship on Graham Greene has extensively examined the expression of his religious concerns in his work, labelling him a “Catholic writer” but also a schismatic author, due to his paradoxical departures from the catholic orthodoxy. Not until recently, scholars such as Mark Bosco (2005) and Michael G. Brennan (2016) have challenged these cliches and drawn attention to the importance of Vatican II and liberation theology discourses in shaping Greene's literary imagination. Given the diverse developments fostered by liberation theologians, further studies are needed to widen the scope of critical dialogue on sociological, epistemological and ontological dimensions in Greene's work. This article places Greene's The Honorary Consul in dialogue with Ignacio Ellacuría's theological articulation, focusing on the concepts of liberation, freedom and soteriology. In addition, it examines kerygmatic forms of announcement and denunciation and the conflictive relationship between the word and ways of transformative action involving violence in Greene's novel.

Fugitive Freedom: The Improbable Lives of Two Impostors in Late Colonial Mexico

Fugitive Freedom: The Improbable Lives of Two Impostors in Late Colonial Mexico

Robert Bellarmine and His Controversies with the Reformers.

Summary Roberto Bellarmino was the defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy as it was re-affirmed at the Council of Trent over against the critical claims made by the various strands of the Protestant Reformation. This paper will provide a brief introduction to Bellarmine’s life, especially as far as his early engagements with Protestantism are concerned. Then it will sketch the apologetic import of his critical interaction with Protestant theology as it is presented in his magnum opus, namely the Controversies. The question will be asked if, and in which ways, articles 9 and 10 of the Apostles’ Creed are the central points of conflict between Rome and the Reformation. Until now this issue has not received sufficient attention and the present paper will try to address it. Bellarmine worked hard to achieve his objectives by way of winning the ‘war’ with theological arguments. For him it was either Rome or the Reformation (aut-aut).

“Omelora”: Orthodox and Disciplinary Masculinities in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’sPurple Hibiscus

This paper examines the connections between masculinity and orthodoxy in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus to underscore the intersections of gender, class, religion, and ethnicity. Adichie depicts two contradictory figures of Catholic orthodoxy, namely, Eugene and Father Amadi and the consequences of their performances of masculinity. Where Eugene enacts violence on his family in the name of piety, Father Amadi demonstrates receptivity to human suffering as crucial to piety. I draw on the ideas of Michel Foucault and Raewyn Connell to demonstrate how discipline, control, and male power operate in the domestic sphere and their effects on subjectivities and bodies. Adichie’s portrayal of Eugene articulates a model of disciplinary power undergirded by orthodoxy. Eugene, therefore, dramatizes orthodox masculinity. I argue that Adichie envisions a redefinition of masculinity by presenting Father Amadi as an alternative to Eugene’s enactments of orthodoxy. I conclude that Adichie provides us with an understanding of how people can deploy violence in the name of piety and religion. Indeed, Adichie emphasizes the need to redefine masculinity cognizant of the dignity of all humanity.

Chaucer and Religious Controversies in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras

Chaucer and Religious Controversies in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras

Credibility Enhancing Displays, religious scandal and the decline of Irish Catholic orthodoxy.

Credibility Enhancing Displays have been shown to be an important component in the transmission of empirically unverifiable cultural content such as religious beliefs. Decreased Credibility Enhancing Displays are a major predictor of religious decline. However, because declines in belief are often paired with the decreasing importance of religious institutions, existing research has not yet shown the effect of Credibility Enhancing Displays as separate from this institutional decline. Here, we assess the role of past Credibility Enhancing Display exposure among the baptised Catholic population of Ireland in predicting who retains a Catholic identity and religious beliefs among those who reject the Catholic Church. We find that leaving Catholicism outright (i.e. 'ex-Catholicism') is predicted by low Credibility Enhancing Display exposure, but rejecting the Church while retaining a Catholic identity (i.e. 'liminal Catholicism') and theistic belief is not. High perceived prevalence of clerical paedophiles (i.e. religious hypocrisy) predicts both groups similarly. Higher exposure to Credibility Enhancing Displays predicts higher orthodox Catholic beliefs and Catholic morality among Catholics, but with inconsistent and even negative effects among the other groups. High perceived prevalence of clerical paedophiles predicts the rejection of orthodox Catholic beliefs, but not the rejection of theism or a Catholic identity.

Don Quixote and Catholicism: Rereading Cervantine Spirituality by Michael J. McGrath

Reviewed by: Don Quixote and Catholicism: Rereading Cervantine Spirituality by Michael J. McGrath James Nemiroff McGrath, Michael J. Don Quixote and Catholicism: Rereading Cervantine Spirituality. Purdue UP, 2020. Pp. 189. ISBN 978-1-55753-899-4. During the past century, Don Quixote has been analyzed from a variety of critical approaches, whether it be from the perspective of theories of the novel, how the novel dialogues with other disciplines, such as visual art or political philosophy, or, more basically, whether Cervantes’s novel exaggerates Catholicism or is informed by it. In Don Quixote and Catholicism: Rereading Cervantine Spirituality, Michael J. McGrath tackles this third question and argues that Don Quixote is a novel inherently informed by the teachings of Catholic orthodoxy (5). McGrath’s goal in his study is “to reclaim Cervantes’[s] Catholicity from the interpretative tradition that ascribes a predominantly Erasmian reading of the novel” (5). McGrath’s study is divided into six chapters. Chapters 1–2 provide historical and critical context for the literary analyses he will pursue in chapters 3–6. Chapter 1 focuses on how Cervantes’s life experiences and intellectual upbringing informed not only his spirituality but also his literary works. For example, McGrath mentions how his allegiance to the Holy League, his fighting in the Battle of Lepanto and subsequent imprisonment in Algiers exposed Cervantes to a variety of cultures and religious traditions that helped inform his early dramatic works (namely El trato de Argel). Moreover, McGrath discusses how his formal education in the works of St. Ignatius of Loyola and Santa Teresa de Avila can help critics understand both Don Quixote’s journey, insofar as the knight imitates the life of St. Ignatius, but also his literary references. Beyond simply being a satire of various genres popular during the Early Modern Period, McGrath [End Page 145] contends that Don Quixote’s readings are indeed acts of contemplative prayer, which evoke mental images or mental symbols (27). Using the conceptual vocabulary of St. Ignatius, McGrath contends that Don Quixote can be read as a manual of Cervantine spirituality that privileges Ignatian spiritual practices over Erasmian Christian Humanism. However, before exploring the different spiritual elements in Cervantes’s novel, McGrath contextualizes his study further in chapter 2 by discussing Erasmus’s impact on Jesuit spirituality, and in so doing responds to the classic Erasmian readings of Don Quixote offered by Américo Castro and Marcel Bataillon. In chapters 3–6, McGrath analyzes both parts of Don Quixote from this Catholic lens attempting to see to what degree Don Quixote mirrors Cervantes’s Catholic upbringing. In chapter 3, McGrath analyzes the novel from the perspective of moral theology, a discipline that became increasingly important in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries due to Spain’s conquest of the New World. McGrath takes as his point of departure Don Quixote’s confession at the end of Part II to probe about the nature of Don Quixote’s morality throughout both parts. The author claims that the morality of the knight’s actions can be evaluated based on the degree in which he perceives the objective and subjective morality of his actions defined as “the relationship between what a person does and the moral order, or the difference between whether an action is good or evil and whether the human being believes it to be so” (66). In order to prove the degree to which morality drives Don Quixote’s actions, McGrath considers the knight’s encounters with Andrés, his first encounter with Ginés de Pasamonte and his meeting with the galley slaves. While the first criterion focuses more on Don Quixote’s justifications for actions, McGrath concludes the chapter exploring the degree Don Quixote is moral, taking into account the consequences of his actions on other characters. In order to assess this consequence, McGrath introduces the concept of the double effect, a concept derived from Neo-Thomist philosophy popular in the period. After considering how Don Quixote’s actions are driven and determined by a Catholic morality, chapters 4–6 consider how the knight errant and his squire Sancho Panza imitate tenets of Jesuit spirituality in a variety of ways. Chapter 4 focuses on episodes...

Teaching Romans 7 after Trent: Michael Baius and his Lecture Hall on Concupiscence and Original Sin in Early Modern Louvain (1552–1589)

Abstract This article introduces a new corpus of sources relevant to the sixteenth-century Baianist controversy at the University of Louvain: student notes made during Michael Baius’ lectures on the Bible during the 1560s. The commentary on Romans 7 taught by the Royal Professor of Sacred Scripture contains a discussion on the sinfulness of concupiscence, the effect of the Fall driving humankind to sin. A contested concept between Catholics and Protestants, the nature of concupiscentia also lies at the core of debates on the orthodoxy of Baius’ justification theology, both early modern and more recent. The professor’s lecture on Romans 7 is analysed against his published treatises, the censures (1565–1567) and papal bull (1567) condemning certain propositions as heretical, and the Tridentine Decree on Original Sin (1546). While Baius’ Augustinian revaluation of humanity’s wounded nature (natura viciata) moved away from the Thomistic conception of concupiscence as innate, but disordered, he did respect the boundaries set by the Council of Trent. Indeed, Baius taught his positive theology in the interstices between the educational application of the Tridentine Decrees and the gradual assertion of dominance by a renewed Thomism in Catholic orthodoxy. I argue that such a historical reading of Baius’ ideas is the key to avoid the earlier dogmatic assessments of his theology.

Princíp spoluvykúpenia ako esencia fatimsky inšpirovanej mariológie Pavla M. Hnilicu: Historicko­-teologická štúdia

The life of Bishop Hnilica – a Jesuit, a secretly consecrated bishop who ordained an important figure of the underground Church J. Ch. Korec – who became a legend mainly because he initiated works of evangelization and solidarity, especially with the Church under the oppression of the Communist regime – was existentially connected with the event and messages of the apparitions in Fatima. This study aims to describe the basic pillars of his mariology, internally connected with soteriology, on the basis of archival materials (sermons, lectures, speeches). There will be a focus on his preferred term "co­-redemption". An analysis of his thinking leads to the conclusion that the concept of co­-redemption – according to Bishop Hnilica the prophetic core of Fatima – does not go beyond Catholic orthodoxy, but is an impetus for an updated interpretation of St. Paul’s idea of Christian complementation by his own suffering of what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church (cf. Col 1:24). In this way, his theology of proclamation can be seen as an inspiring contribution to the mariological discussion of Mary’s participation in the work of redemption.

Dignity, Autonomy, and Assisted Suicide: An Ecumenical Perspective on the German Context

Abstract A 2020 decision by Germany’s highest court dramatically shifted the national discussion on assisted suicide. The decision stressed the ‘right to a self-determined death’ which must ‘be respected by state and society as an act of personal autonomy and self-determination’. Moreover, it clarified the non-criminality of assistance for suicides by third parties. The reaction of the main churches in Germany to this decision reflects ecclesiological differences. Protestant positions on assisted suicide are defined by pluralism; the Roman Catholic official position remains tied to ontologically-referenced principles of natural law that prohibit assisted suicide as intrinsically evil. Thus, ecumenical efforts on bioethics are complicated by a context where many Protestant leaders prioritize autonomy and pluralism, whereas Roman Catholic leaders stress consensus and orthodoxy. Even official church guidelines on such matters are received differently in Protestant and Roman Catholic communities. For Protestant Christians, an opinion functions primarily as guideline; for Catholic Christians, there is a goal at least of reaching principles reflecting the objective order of God’s creation.

깔데론의 『포위당한 교회』에 나타난 종교 간 갈등 양상 연구

Pedro Calderón de la Barca exposed internal conflicts between the four religious groups that formed the anti-Catholic alliance, which led to the conversion of the attack from the Catholic Church to the Protestant, thus naturally highlighting Catholic orthodoxy. After failing to respond effectively to theological attacks by the Reformation camps in the first half of the 16th century, the Catholic Church dramatically embodies its response to the Protestant forces with confidence and composure in the 17th century. The play was designed to gain ethical legitimacy by adding to the issue of looting and slaughtering of the city of Tirlemont in Flanders in the year when the work was written. Calderón''s The Besieged Church is a sacramental act that appeared at the height of the Counter-Reformation of the Catholic Church during the Baroque period, representing a combative character based on doctrinal controversy.

Queering the pulpit: catholic clergy and media celebrity in the Republic of Ireland

ABSTRACT This article examines the unlikely ways that media celebrity enabled priests and nuns in Ireland to make gay and lesbian identities visible. Despite the fact that sex among men was criminalised in Ireland until 1993, Catholic priests and nuns during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s used their mass media celebrity to make same-sex desire and LGBTQIA+ identities visible in popular media, especially through the public service broadcaster RTÉ. The article examines three case studies in which priests and nuns ‘queered the pulpit,’ harnessing their public personas to affirm LGBTQIA+ identities across various Irish media platforms in ways that were surprisingly tolerant, given Catholic orthodoxy. The article speaks to the paucity of research regarding religious personalities as celebrities. The omission of religious figures from the celebrity studies literature is noteworthy, particularly in the Irish context, where broadcast media has been a potent site for cultivating clergy celebrity. The article’s focus on religious celebrities who gave voice to LGBTQIA+ lives and concerns in the Irish context also reframes the traditional narrative of the relationship between media and Catholic clergy, which has often been characterised solely in terms of scandal.

Polish Catholic Bishops, Nationalism and Liberal Democracy

The alliance of the Polish Catholic Church with the Law and Justice (PiS) government has been widely reported and resulted in significant benefits for the Church. However, beginning in mid-2016, the top church leadership, including the Episcopal Conference, has distanced itself from the government and condemned its use of National Catholicism as legitimation rhetoric for the government’s malpractices in the fields of human rights and democracy. How to account for this behavior? The article proposes two explanations. The first is that the alliance of the PiS with the nationalist wing of the Church, while legitimating its illiberal refugee policy and attacks on democratic institutions of the government, further radicalized the National Catholic faction of the Polish Church and motivated a reaction of the liberal and mainstream conservative prelates. The leaders of the Episcopate, facing an empowered and radical National Catholic faction, pushed back with a doctrinal clarification of Catholic orthodoxy. The second explanatory path considers the transnational influence of Catholicism, in particular of Pope Francis’ intervention in favor of refugee rights as prompting the mainstream bishops to reestablish the Catholic orthodoxy. The article starts by tracing the opposition of the Bishops Conference and liberal prelates to the government’s refugee and autocratizing policies. Second, it describes the dynamics of the Church’s internal polarization during the PiS government. Third, it traces and contextualizes the intervention of Pope Francis during the asylum political crisis (2015–2016). Fourth, it portrays their respective impact: while the Pope’s intervention triggered the bishops’ response, the deepening rifts between liberal and nationalist factions of Polish Catholicism are the ground cause for the reaction.

Celebrating Alonso Berruguete: art history and Spanish identity before and after the Civil War

The article focuses on the national reception of the Spanish Renaissance sculptor and painter Alonso Berruguete over the twentieth century. It considers the artist’s critical fortunes, from the first monograph dedicated to Berruguete in 1917 to the erection of a monument in Palencia on the fourth centenary of his death in 1961. This article shows how Berruguete was used to consolidate a modern image of Spain and Spanishness, along with El Greco and others from the pantheon of Iberian art. This agenda, in which his works were interpreted in terms of spiritual realism and Catholic orthodoxy, was carried forward despite the dramatically changing ideological context before and after the Spanish Civil War. In this context, Berruguete was selected as a symbol of the true essence of the Spanish soul by critics such as Elías Tormo and Eugeni D’Ors. The framing of Berruguete in terms of this specific art historiography - to which this study devotes critical attention for the first time - can be considered one of the reasons for the modern interest in Berruguete and provides an important background for any study on the sculptor.

O obowiązywalności wczesnych dekretów Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej

Wczesne „Odpowiedzi” Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej miały rangę dokumentów doktrynalnych, a ich celem było wyznaczenie granic katolickiej ortodoksji w studiach Pisma Świętego. Dekrety te nigdy nie utraciły swojego znaczenia formalnego, choć zostały niemal całkowicie zapomniane i unieważnione przez teologów. W 1955 roku ukazał się anonimowy artykuł, którego celem było ograniczenie autorytetu „Odpowiedzi” i uznanie ich za przestarzałe. Jednak za artykułem tym nie stał żaden formalny autorytet Kościoła. Obecnie wypada spojrzeć na te dokumenty jako na świadectwo nieustannie aktualnego Magisterium Kościoła zgodnie z zasadą „hermeneutyki ciągłości”.