non-Catholic Christians Research Articles

I nomi degli altri: Conversioni a Venezia e nel Friuli Veneto in età moderna (review)

Reviewed by: I nomi degli altri: Conversioni a Venezia e nel Friuli Veneto in età moderna Benjamin Ravid I nomi degli altri: Conversioni a Venezia e nel Friuli Veneto in età moderna. By Pietro Ioly Zorattini. [Biblioteca dell’«Archivum Romanicum», Serie I: Storia, Letteratura, Paleografia, Vol. 348.] (Florence: Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki. 2008. Pp. xx, 385. €42,00 paperback. ISBN 978-8-822-25782-6.) I nomi degli altri by Pietro Ioly Zorattini has greatly enhanced our knowledge of conversions to Catholicism in Venice and in Friuli-Veneto on the part not only of Jews but also of Muslims and non-Catholic Christians. The first four chapters of the book deal with conversion in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam; the attitude of the papacy toward infidels in Italy during the Counter-Reformation with emphasis on the role of the House of Catechumens in preparing infidels for baptism; the conversion of Jews in Venice prior to the establishment of the Venetian House of Catechumens in 1557; and a history of the Venetian House of Catechumens, tracing its locations, governance, and process for admitting potential converts. Chapter 5—in a sense, the core of the book—analyzes the baptismal records from the House of Catechumens in Venice, presented in forty-four [End Page 565] pages of tabulated data. An overall numerical introduction of those admitted to the House and of those baptized is followed by breakdowns by nuclear families; by age; by numbers baptized within certain time periods; by the names of the baptizers in chronological order and by the number of converts they baptized; by the churches in which the baptisms occurred; and by the place of origin (listing both historical and present-day place names) of the baptized Muslims, Jews, and non-Catholic Christians, which is organized by number of converts as well as alphabetically. Most basically, although there are gaps in the extant registers, it appears that 2635 individuals entered the House of Catechumens, of whom 2351, almost 90%, eventually converted. The remaining 284, slightly over 10%, were not converted for several reasons: Some were discovered to have already been baptized (a second baptism, baptismo iterato, usually undertaken for financial gain, constituted a desecration of the sacrament); others ultimately decided to remain with their families, did not have an authentic vocation, had a criminal record, did not behave properly in the House, or refused because of conscience. Of those who entered, 1630 were Muslims, 975 Jews, 28 non-Catholic Christians, and two Manicheans. Of the baptized, 1598 were male and 753 female (a ratio of 2.12 to 1), while the ratio of men who left without baptism was much higher (3.81 to 1).Although the place of origin of the individual catechumens was not always given in the documents, the majority of the Muslims for whom it was given (72.6 percent) came from the Venetian possessions in the East and consisted mainly of former sailors, soldiers, and unspecified women who had been captured in war or purchased by Venetian merchants and brought to Venice. Others came from the Ottoman Empire, Abyssinia, and a few from India and Tartary. As for the known places of origin of Jews, the largest group (373 out of 747) came from the ghetto of Venice, followed by fifty-two from Padua and forty from Verona, while the others originated primarily from Northern Italy or the Venetian overseas empire. Because Muslims usually arrived at the House as individuals from far away while Jews from the Veneto often came in families, 3 percent of the Muslims converted in nuclear families, but 25.4 percent of the Jews did. As for the few non-Catholic Christians, twenty-five were Protestants (thirteen Anabaptists, eight Calvinists, and four Lutherans), while three were Russian Orthodox. The remaining chapters deal with learned Jewish converts who cooperated in various ways with the Inquisition, candidates for baptism who were not accepted, Muslims and Jews who came from the Ottoman Empire, converts in Friuli Veneto, and finally, some famous converts around the time of the end of the Venetian Republic and afterward. Based to a great extent on statistical analysis, this book is very far from constituting a dry, technical volume...

The Old Religion in a New World. The History of North American Christianity (review)

Reviewed by: The Old Religion in a New World. The History of North American Christianity Michael Zoeller The Old Religion in a New World. The History of North American Christianity. By Mark A. Noll. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.2002. Pp. xii, 340. $24.00 paperback.) Finding out about a book on how European religion fared in the New World, one can safely expect a "must read" if the author is the one authority on evangelical Protestantism and has also published widely on American religious history as on the history of Christianity in general–and the reader will not be disappointed in his expectations. What sets the book apart is the emphasis on what is American about religion in America to begin with but also the combination of comprehensive narrative and analytically reasoned treatment of such recurrent if not perennial issues like church-state relations, concepts of pluralism, or the relation, if any, of religious practice and theology. The first one of these characteristics makes for good reading, because it focuses the story Noll is providing, whereas the second one leads to a book [End Page 203] divided or two books in one. The author was aware of this risk and took it deliberately. He "divided" the book as he says between some chapters "offering a sketch of developments in a specific historical period and others attempting a more general interpretation of a major theme or circumstance." Therefore, one can read seven of the twelve chapters (jumping one that is interspersed and ignoring four others that follow) as a comprehensive but nevertheless wide-ranging description of how the old European forms of Christianity developed in and adjusted to America. One effortlessly follows the author from the period of colonization through the era of national formation that already showed distinctly American religious forms, the nineteenth century, when the Protestant influence peaked, the interwar period of the last century that saw the first cultural wars between Protestant fundamentalism and modernism, to the 1960's when Protestantism at first looked more like "a very rough general category for non-Catholic Christians than a cohesive religious force," and finally the years since, which witnessed "a shifting balance of power among the churches, several new movements of spiritual renewal, and increasing antagonism with some secular elements in the broader culture." Then there are the other chapters on the "Separation of Church and State" or on "Theology" which Noll may have set aside because he felt they would not lend themselves to the same easy, flowing narrative style, because he was relying more on and referring to the work of other scholars or for whatever undisclosed reason. In fact these chapters provide excellent summaries of specialized literature and could serve as an introduction to the research on specific issues. They show a remarkable range of knowledge which, for example, allows Noll to summarize Philip Gleason's in-depth study on Catholic higher education and intellectuality in a few strokes of a brush. But the same can be said of the way in which Noll summarizes Nathan Hatch's work in one of the historical chapters, when he is dealing with "The American Revolution." On one hand Noll's whole book, in the more historical chapters as well as in the others, is so much a masterly condensation of all the relevant literature, that any author not mentioned must feel bad and on the other hand the more theoretical chapters are also written in very accessible style. In short the subdivision fails to convince, but even this is a minor deficiency in this eminently learned, lucid, and enlightening book. Michael Zoeller Universität Bayreuth Copyright © 2007 The Catholic University of America Press

Coleridge and Newman: The Centrality of Conscience by Philip C. Rule, S.J.

Philip Rule’s Coleridge and Newman:The Centrality of Conscience crystallizes as an unusual and refreshing discourse, really an extended essay. It is a little book with a big message. The argument,which developed over forty years of teaching and writing, as Rule tells us, has the courage of its eccentricities. It is highly compressed, all the incidentals having fallen away, laying out, through the juxtaposition of great texts by Coleridge and Newman,a rich series of interrelated insights derived from the NEWMAN STUDIES JOURNAL 106 of the usual form) and in the amplified endnotes. Jaki makes some important emphases on Newman’s concern for facts and the bold outlines of the faith as a limiting factor in understanding the development of doctrine. There is, however, much that is disturbing in Jaki’s presentation. Persons of great learning and love for the church are described as myopic, lopsided, fuzzy, shallow, or tendentious. Jaki himself is delighted that Newman in The Via Media includes the Curia as authoritative (lxxxiii),but fails to balance this with his statement in the“Letter to the Duke of Norfolk” (Difficulties of Anglicans, II, 297–298) about the "malarial fog" in the swamps below the rock of Peter in Rome. Likewise Jaki’s attitude toward non-Catholic Christians is very disturbing. He speaks of “Christian” denominations (his quotes) and of mere Anglicans. Demeaning comments question motives, and gratuitous facts about personal lives are inserted. Further, he fails to limit himself to what Newman actually said and rather imperially assures the reader on many occasions of what Newman would have said. Jaki’s tone is very different from the usual gracious treatment of his opponents (e.g., Pusey and Gladstone) by Newman himself and his generosity of spirit. The book is marked with numerous printing errors, serious misspelling of personal names,and errors in dates. There are also factual errors. SamuelWilberforce was never bishop of Exeter. Moreover, Bishop Samuel Phillpotts of Exeter did not institute the infamous G. C. Gorham into his parish after the Privy Council Judgment: the Dean of Arches did so after Phillpotts refused! Given Newman’s penchant for revising and perfecting his work, most readers will probably continue to prefer the text of the 1878 third edition of the Essay on Development, available in the 1979 version of the University of Notre Dame Press. Introductions which assist readers in understanding the primary source will continue to be far more helpful in understanding Newman than this one. J. Raymond Lord Owensboro, KY Coleridge and Newman: The Centrality of Conscience. By Philip C. Rule, S.J. Studies in Religion and Literature 8. New York: Fordham University Press, 2004. Pages x + 182. Hardcover, $55.00. ISBN 0823223159. COLERIDGE AND NEWMAN: THE CENTRALITY OF CONSCIENCE BY PHILIP C. RULE, S.J. BOOK REVIEW 107 foundational importance of conscience in their thinking. The argument is made that conscience, or moral self-consciousness, is the unifying thread in both writers and gives a powerful centrality to their work, belying the common claims, even by the writers themselves, of a lack of system in their thinking. Coleridge’s canon is famous for being inchoate, in appearance at least, and much of Newman’s is “occasional writing”in the sense that he wrote“to calls.” However, by severely limiting his focus, Rule is able to show us consistency of vision in both writers and a parallelism of purpose that is surprising and thought-provoking when Coleridge’s views of “reflection,”the“philosophical mind,”and,ultimately,“spiritual religion”are examined in relation to Newman’s concepts of “conscience” and the “illative sense.” Using a “structural approach” that emphasizes continuity and development of the idea of conscience, Rule has little concern for well-worn lines of argument such as Thomas McFarland’s claim,amusingly rebutted in the introduction,that Coleridge can only be understood within a broad philosophical tradition. Likewise, Rule has little interest in further inconclusive speculations on Coleridge’s precise influence on Newman, which he assumes is considerable, given the latter’s enigmatic references to his great predecessor. Rule’s argument is limited but not confining, because his chief methodological tool is the cognitional theory of Bernard Lonergan,which he uses...

Communion with Non-Catholic Christians: Risks, Challenges, and Opportunities. By Jeffrey VanderWilt. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003. ix + 229 pages. $18.95 (paper).

Communion with Non-Catholic Christians: Risks, Challenges, and Opportunities. By Jeffrey VanderWilt. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003. ix + 229 pages. $18.95 (paper).

Eucharistic Sharing: Revising the Question

[The author provides a brief examination of Roman Catholic norms for sharing communion with non-Catholic Christians. He then discusses three areas of concern with respect to these norms as currently formulated: the Eucharist as the cause and expression of unity; the Eucharist in the context of Christian initiation; and Christian ministry with respect to eucharistic sharing. He concludes by offering four modest proposals to revise the question of eucharistic hospitality.]

Religion, Social Class, and Political Tolerance

:This article examines the impact of individuals’ religious beliefs and practices, as well as their location in the social structure, on political tolerance-an important element of political culture. Here, political tolerance is measured as the willingness to extend civil liberties to those who want to overthrow the government by revolution. Employing this extreme form of political tolerance, hypotheses regarding its determinants are tested. The data utilized are from thirteen industrialized countries included in the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)1996: Role of Government. Results show that both religion and social class affect political tolerance. In particular, non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians have lower levels of tolerance than those without a denominational preference. Independently of denomination, the more individuals attend church, the lower the level of their tolerance. Members of privileged social classes are particularly tolerant, and this effect remains significant even when controlling for social stratification: formal education, occupational prestige, and income. Moreover, the impact of religion and social class on tolerance is different in post-communist and advanced capitalist countries.

History of Vatican II, Vol. I: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II: Toward a New Era in Catholicism ed. by Giuseppe Alberigo; English version ed. by Joeph A. Komonchak

History of Vatican II, Vol. I: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II.' Toward New Era in Catholicism. Edited by Giuseppe Alberigo; English version edited by Joeph A. Komonchak. (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis; Leuven, Belgium: Peeters. 1995. Pp. xviii, 527. $80.00.) Carl Joseph Hefele alone was able to write history of provincial and general councils to mid-fifteenth century in seven volumes, and Hubert Jedin alone was able to write history of Council of Trent in four volumes (bound as five), but apparently no single historian is capable of writing history of Second Vatican Council. Giuseppe Alberigo through Istituto per le Scienze Religiose in Bologna has been promoting research and publication on this council for many years, and resulting books and articles have been useful to him and other four contributors to this volume. It would have been helpful to readers, however, to append bibliography of these and other previously published works, and stricter editorial control would have prevented repetitions and overlapping in five chapters. In first chapter Professor Alberigo himself takes up Announcement of concluding that decision to convoke it was entirely John XXIII's own, a free and independent decision,the fruit of personal conviction of pope (p. 13). In fifty-four pages he sketches pontiff's earlier life, reviews reactions to announcement in Catholic circles and among nonCatholic Christians, in diplomatic sphere and in press, and traces development of defining of character of council (ecumenical, pastoral, and turned toward modern world but still in many respects traditional). The author speaks of the suffocation from which contemporary Christianity was suffering (p. 43)-a description that hardly rings true for American Catholicism, which was expanding in every way in 1950's. Lastly, he touches on establishment of Antepreparatory Commission, initiating persistent criticism of Roman Curia's role during preconciliar period. The antepreparatory phase (January, 1959-October, 1962) is investigated by Etienne Fouilloux of Lyons in Chapter II. He looks at cold war and decolonization, influence of Orthodox synodal practice and ecumenical movement in West, conciliar tradition among Catholics, and in sweeping panorama state of Catholicism on eve of council with emphasis on anti-Roman sentiments. Professor Fouilloux narrates work of Antepreparatory Commission, of which only president and secretariat, he concludes, played any really effective part (p. 95). Then in various ways he analyzes responses received from bishops, religious superiors, Curial officials, and pontifical universities or faculties to invitation to submit their opinions and suggestions; these were published in fourteen large tomes. Fouilloux makes first attempt to study all responses comparatively. His supercilious comments on less progressive views, however, show that it is easier to be wise and far-sighted after event than before. Finally, he criticizes two-volume analytical survey of suggestions, which, he claims,displays results of screening of vota by [Pericle] Felici's secretariat with two sieves provided by theology of manuals and by canon law and distorts antepreparatory consultation by reducing it to its skeletal structure (pp. 143,144). He finds even greater reductionism in Final Synthesis of Resolutions and Suggestions of bishops (March 12, 1960). The outcome, he asserts, was an evident Romanization of plan for Council, both in organization of preparation and in subjects it would treat (p. 166). The longest chapter, third, by Joseph A. Komonchak, professor of ecclesiology in Catholic University of America, deals in detail with work of Central Preparatory Commission, ten preparatory commissions, and three secretariats. …

Koriwns Biographie des Mesrop Maštoc': Übersetzung und Kommentar by Gabriele Winkler

BOOK REVIEWS 501 not succeed. This failure, they argue, opened the way for ambitious chieftains like Alaric to exploit the ensuing rivalries between Eastern and Western courts. Whatever one thinks of these conclusions, they are nonetheless based on current scholarship and reasonably argued. The same cannot be said about the authors' treatment of the equally significant religious developments of this reign, which saw a quantum leap in the level of coercion against non-Catholic Christians and pagans. Here the authors are content to paste together a collage of views, taken uncritically from such disparate sources as Edward Gibbon and Ambrose of Milan. If by so doing they aimed at impartiality, what they hit was cartoon, with the sober Theodosius of other chapters now a "persecuting fanatic , priest-ridden to the point of puppetry" (p. 70). Not coincidentally, at this point the authors' rhetoric goes over the top as well, including a summation of Theodosius' religious policy as "the Christianity of the monks and the mobs, expressed in the language of imperial law; inspired not by a sober policy of desirable religious aims, but the ruler's dread of damnation and need for magical prescriptions to counteract the juju"(pp. 120-121). While not, therefore, a comprehensive reassessment of the career ofTheodosius , this is nevertheless a book with many useful things to say about a pivotal period in Roman relations with Germanic peoples. There are some proofreading errors that should be corrected in any subsequent edition: Theta for Phi in the Greek spelling of Theodosius (p.24); four years, not six, for the time between Adrianople and 382 (p. 334); 306 instead of 307 as the date of Constantine's rule (p.37); eighteen months instead of three years forJulian's rule (p.51); 395, not 394, for the death ofTheodosius (p. 138); 251, not 231,forGallienus (p.190). A marginal comment: I have rarely seen a book with so many useless, unnecessary and occasionally misdirected notes. Is quantity of notes the new criterion for publishing generalist works with university presses? H. A. Drake University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara Koriwns Biographie des Mesrop Mastoc': Übersetzung und Kommentar. By Gabriele Winkler. [Orientalia Christiana Analecta, 245.] (Rome: Pontificio Istituto Orientale. 1994. Pp. 452.) The conversion of Armenia to Christianity was a long process. Of the first stage—the infiltration of Christians from Asia Minor to the west and from Syria to the south—little is known. The emergence of the Church as a factor in Armenian politics was marked by the consecration of St. Gregory (the Illuminator ) at Caesarea in 314 as the country's first bishop. But the full impact of Christianity as the dominant cultural force came only a century later with the invention of a national script. The person responsible for this dramatic devel- 502 BOOK REVIEWS opment was Mastoc', also known in later texts as Mesrop. He was born between 361 and 364 and received a good Greek education. After a successful early career in the royal chancellery he abandoned the secular world for the ascetic life, and with his disciples engaged in numerous missionary travels in remoter parts of Armenia. His biography was written by Koriwn, one of his disciples, not long after the master's death in 439 or 440. This short work thus has a double significance. It is the earliest evidence for the creation of the native script, which was immediately followed by the rapid translation of necessary ecclesiastical texts into Armenian. And being probably the first original work written in that language, it is important as an influential document in the development ofArmenian literature. Such an important text has not passed unnoticed in previous scholarship. This new translation with commentary is particularly valuable in that it provides a comprehensive review and critical assessment of earlier studies. There has been much scope for scholarly controversy; for although the Armenian text is only forty pages long, its episodic character and lack of clear dating have led to numerous problems, including the actual order of the narrative. Furthermore , a second recension was composed at a later date under the influence of the History by Movsës Xorenac'i (of disputed date, probably early eighth century ). Professor Winkler here...

Catholicism and the Philippine population problem.

"The Philippines has two characteristics which differentiate if from other countries in Southeast Asia. It is the only predominantly Christian country in the region and it has one of the highest rates of population growth. Non-Catholic Christians make up only about 9 per cent of the population compared with around 82 per cent for Roman Catholics. Given the Catholic Church objections to both contraception and abortion, it is not illogical to hypothesize a relation between the religious composition of the population and its rate of population growth."

Academic Dissent: An Original Ecclesiology

Academic Dissent: An Original Ecclesiology

Catholicity and Non-Catholic Christians

Catholicity and Non-Catholic Christians

Catholics and the Cecumenical Movement

The Lambeth Conference and the World Council of the Churches at Amsterdam, held this summer, have brought the question of Christian Unity once again into the forefront of consciousness, even for Catholics. Now that they are over and their results made public it seems worth while to consider from the Catholic standpoint what value their efforts are likely to have in fostering a Christian Unity which is founded upon Truth. For us in England this will mean primarily a consideration of Anglicanism, for it is very evident, even from a superficial observation of the growing desire for unity among non-Catholic Christians, that the Church of England plays a dominant part in its development and will determine to a great extent the forms it will take in the future. What is happening in the Church of England therefore is a matter of capital importance if we wish to assess the value, in terms of truth, of the work being done by the œcumenical movement.This brings us to a fundamental question not always squarely faced by Catholics. Does it matter what happens in the Church of England or in any of the Christian bodies which owe their origin to the Reformation? What is our attitude to these bodies as organisations? Is it of the slightest importance, as far as truth and true unity are concerned, which direction they take, or what arrangements they make among themselves for furthering their own coherence?The view of the majority of Catholics would probably be that it matters not at all.

A Common Ground

‘They must be guided by that universal love which is the compendium and most general expression of the Christian ideal, and which therefore may serve as a common ground also for those who have not the blessing of sharing the same faith with us. A great deal of confusion in the matter of co-operation with non-Catholics might have been avoided if we had insisted more strongly on the obvious sense of the words of Pope Pius XII in which he called for a common front in the promotion of peace. A common faith is expressly excluded as a basis of co-operation, nor is anything said here about a general recognition of the Natural Law; the common ground is discovered in universal love, an activity of the will rather than an intellectual outlook. That is not to say that we may not take full advantage of a genuinely Christian view of life in individuals who honestly fail to identify authentic Christianity with the Catholic Church, or that we may not expect others to observe the Natural Law and inculcate its precepts; but the one thing that we can generally demand is good will, which, as we know, is the condition for the infusion of sanctifying grace and supernatural charity. We cannot perceive the workings of grace, but we have to assume that one who gives signs of good will is imbued with this supernatural and universal love of which the Pope speaks, no matter what his speculative ideals may be. Such a basis is wide enough to include those who do not profess Christianity at all; as there are so many of them in Europe to-day, ‘those who have not the blessing of sharing the same faith ‘can scarcely be meant to cover only the various groups of non-Catholic Christians.