In Search Of A Humbler Church (CT9016Y)

Content

What ecclesiological resources do we have for transforming the culture of the church? How can we reclaim the church as a collaborative and vulnerable space? Can we build a church where the mission of serving the reign of God and the relationships of community are more important than the preservation of the institution? In the light of these questions, this unit examines the theology of the church grounded in Jesus’ preaching of God’s kingdom / reign and oriented to the mission of that kingdom. It will explore New Testament images and metaphors for the church and historical and contemporary models of church and mission. The ecclesiological documents of the Second Vatican Council will be assessed both for what they contribute to the quest for a humbler church, and for what they fail to resolve. The issues flowing from the conflicting receptions of Vatican II will be assessed before examining the contribution of Pope Francis and Evangelii Gaudium.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

One Foundational unit in CT

Pedagogy

Lectures, tutorials, discussions, flipped classroom

Indicative Bibliography

• Avis, Paul. Jesus and the Church. The Foundation of the Church in the New Testament and Modern Theology. London: T&T Clark, 2021
• Bevans, Stephen B. Community of Missionary Disciples. The Continuing Creation of the Church. Orbis: Maryknoll NY, 2024.
• Fuellenbach, John. Church, Community for the Kingdom. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002.
• Gaillardetz, Richard R., and Edward P. Hahnenberg. A Church With Open Doors: Catholic Ecclesiology for the Third Millennium. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical/ Michael Glazier, 2015.
• Kasper, Walter. The Catholic Church. Nature, Reality and Mission. London: Bloomsbury/ T & T Clark, 2015.
• Kung, Hans. The Church. London: Burns & Oates, 1967.
• Lakeland, Paul. A Council That Will Never End: Lumen Gentium and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical/ Michael Glazier, 2013.
• Mannion, Gerard (ed). Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism. Evangelii Gaudium and the Papal Agenda. Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2017
• Pickard, Stephen. Seeking the Church. An Introduction to Ecclesiology. London: SCM, 2012.
• Rausch, Thomas. Towards a Truly Catholic Church. An Ecclesiology for the Third Millennium. Collegeville MN, Liturgical Press, 2005

Assessment