Benoît-Dominique de La Soujeole OP
“Is There no salvation outside of Church?”
The introductory text is comprehensive review of a book by Bernard Sesboüé Hors de l’Eglise pas de salut. Histoire d’une formule et problèmes d’interprétation (There is no salvation outside of church. History of one term and problems with its interpretation) in Revue thomiste. It oulines history of the phrase „there is no salvation outside of Church“ from Christian antiquity and primarily Florence Council up to explanation of the Vatican Council II. It follows the dynamic change of its’ interpretation, it concern with its’ cristological basis and ecclesiastical aspect.
David Vopřada
Augustine’s catechumen in the Church of Sinners
Saint Augustine occupies a prominent place in the Church’s self-knowledge as a community of righteous and sinners (ecclesia permixta). The author shows how Augustine’s conception of the church manifested itself in his work with catechumen and the newly baptized, who needed not only to be dedicated to the foundations of faith and the Christian way of life, but also to prepare for life in the community of the church, both saints and sinners at the same time. Augustine’s teachings of the Church, made up of both righteous and sinners, can be found in the first catechesis of those who have come to take an interest in Christianity, further in the course of catechumenate preparation and also after baptism. This demonstrates how deeply ingrained the idea of a mixed church is in Augustine’s thinking.
Nikolaus Schwerdtfeger
“Anonymous Christian” in Karl Rahner’s theological work
First the author describes the development of the “anonymous Christian” theory throughout Rahner’s theology. It represents three of Rahner’s lyrics that were important in shaping this theory. In the next part, it shows her basic assumptions, based on the very heart of Rahner theology: The universal redeeming will of God; Jesus Christ as the pre-sacrament of salvation; the transcendental hope of resurrection; and the cristological situation. He also attempts to portray the everyday form of “anonymous Christianity”, also addressing the most important objections to the theory and its topicality for the present day.
Karel Skalický
Boublik’s “anonymous catechumen” and Rahner’s “anonymous Christians”
In this statute, which is part of a more extensive study, Czech theologian Karel Skalický looks at Vladimir Boublik’s extraordinary contribution to the theology of non-Christian religions, and not just it, he critically copes with Karl Rahner’s well-known thesis on anonymous Christians, and offers another, positive alternative. Skalický shows how Boublik convincingly theologically challenged the concept of anonymous Christians (by developing the theology of a Christian, he came to the point that a Christian could not be one who did not recognize Christ), and offered the concept of anonymous catechumen, the disposition of every person to Christ, whose image he carries.
Ludvík Grundman OP
Love is her boundaries…
The thesis of French theologian Alexander Diriart, “Love is her boundaries”, is one of the newest and most interesting tomistic contributions in eclesiology. Ludvík Grundman is trying to present her contribution especially with regard to church affiliation issues. Cardinal Journet’s doctrine of supernatural love (agape) as the created soul of the church actually allows a real paradigm change: It is not primarily about how man externally enters a clearly bounded organisation, but how a supernatural grace works in the heart of each man, linking him to other people at the same time, and so building a church even where we would not expect it.
Why do I belong to the Catholic Church?
Survey
Belonging to the Church is a matter of reflection not only professional but also highly personal, which is part of the lives of most Christians, especially today, in the post-modern era, when it is heavily themed, even relativized or challenged. The intention of this number was not only to grasp it speculatively, but also to show, at least a little, a varied variety of ways in which it is experienced. This is also what we tried to do in the form of a poll in which members of the editorial council (Oldřich Selucký, Klára Jirsová, Jiří Pavlík, Markéta Dudziková, Tomasz Dostatni OP, Dagmar Kopecká, Martin Bedřich, Norbert Schmidt) answer the question “Why do I belong to the Catholic Church?“.
Josef Prokeš
Church as Field Hospital
A Czech priest and theologian is developing Francis’ image of the church as a field hospital in light of the pastoral practice. In doing so, it is based first on images that do not match the Pope’s intention: The church as a field museum, as a field temple, as a field library, as a field inn. All these images contain something positive and bearable, but deviate from the original intuition, which helps us better understand the original metaphor (what it means to be a doctor in a field hospital) and answer the question of what kind of church we ourselves dream about.
Martin Staněk
Ante portas converts
Conversion and institutionalized form of faith
Pastoral officer from Prague’s Academy Church of St. Salvatore shows a study that was conducted among catechumen in this parish, which included mostly adult convert-college students. It compares this group to parallel groups in the world, analyzes their motivations for entering the church, addresses the main issues and problems that those concerned are asking and addressing. At the same time, the environment of these converts is an interesting place of reflection for the church, so in the second part of the study it looks at how the church sees itself, what they criticize about it, what they expect from it, what images the church carries. All this in light of the challenges of pastoral practice with such a specific group.
Barbora Spalová
Love of the Church from the perspective of social anthropological research
The form of lay-cleric relationships and the form of experienced eclesiologies are interconnected vessels. The social anthropological research conducted in 2013–2015 in several parishes and communities of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia offers a structured insight into the very diverse concepts of what it means to live a love of the church. In Czech parishes, this love of the church is often highly individualised, but there are also initiatives that seek to overcome the division and seek common paths. There is also an urgent need for laymen and clerics to live in closer relationships during post-restitution periods.