Three Key Moments in the Developing Theology of the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in the Twentieth Century

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Three Key Moments in the Developing Theology of the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in the Twentieth Century Three Key Moments in the Developing Theology of the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in the Twentieth Century Author: Jeanmarie Gribaudo Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/3217 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2012 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Department of Systematic Theology Three Key Moments in the Developing Theology of the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in the Twentieth Century a dissertation by SISTER JEANMARIE GRIBAUDO, CSJ submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology December 2012 © copyright by SISTER JEANMARIE GRIBAUDO, CSJ 2012 2 Three Key Moments in the Developing Theology of the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in the Twentieth Century a dissertation by Jeanmarie Gribaudo, CSJ directed by John Baldovin, SJ This dissertation examines three key moments in the developing theology of the Church’s holiness and sinfulness in the twentieth century: the ressourcement movement of the 1930s-50s, Vatican II (1962-65), and the pontificate of John Paul II. Chapter One discusses the contributions of Emile Mersch, Church as Mystical Body of Christ; Henri de Lubac, the paradoxes in understanding the Church as sacrament and as in time and beyond time; Hans urs Von Balthasar, the Church as covenant; Yves Congar, the scandal of division in the Church and the image of the Church as the People of God; Karl Rahner, the Church as sacrament for the World; Charles Journet, the Holy Spirit as the formal cause of the Church. Chapter Two traces the influence of these theologians on key sections in Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium (LG) and as reflected in related conciliar texts. Chief among LG’s advances are the church as mystery and sacrament, the pilgrim People of God, the need for conversion, renewal and perfection through the Spirit, and the universal call to holiness. Chapter Three shows how Pope John Paul II further advanced the understanding of the Church’s holiness and sinfulness in his millennial program which included two documents, Tertio Millennio Adveniente (1994) and Novo Millennio Ineunte (2001) and a liturgy and public apology on March 12, 2000 for the sins of the members of the Church. The Conclusion argues that John Paul II’s apology was the fruit of a century of theological reflection on the nature and mission of the Church and that it set an agenda for further theological development in the twenty-first century regarding the holiness and sinfulness of the Church that these three twentieth-century moments suggest. Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Treatment of the Church’s Holiness and Sinfulness in Key Works of Pre-Conciliar Theologians Introduction 16 Emile Mersch 19 Henri de Lubac 33 Hans Urs Von Balthasar 57 Yves Congar 71 Karl Rahner 88 Charles Journet 96 Major Pre-Conciliar Contributions 106 Chapter Two: Lumen Gentium on the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church: The Contribution of the Pre-Conciliar Theologians 111 The Council in Context: 111 Some Hermeneutical Considerations 114 Vatican II: the Context 120 The Church as the Theme of the Council 122 From De Ecclesia to Lumen Gentium 124 Lumen Gentium on the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church 131 Theological Influences: the Holiness and Sinfulness of the Church in Lumen Gentium 132 i Lumen Gentium Section One – Church as Mystery, Sacrament and Sign 134 Lumen Gentium Section Four – One People and the Spirit’s Role in the Mission 141 Lumen Gentium Section Seven – Church as Body of Christ 144 Lumen Gentium Section Eight – Elements of the Church 150 Lumen Gentium Section Nine – People of God 155 Lumen Gentium Sections Thirty Nine and Forty--Universal call to holiness 157 Lumen Gentium Section 48—Church as Pilgrim 159 The Pre-Conciliar Theologians at the Council 162 Holiness and Sinfulness in other Documents of Vatican II 168 Conclusion: An Unfinished Agenda 170 After Vatican II 171 Hans Urs von Balthasar – A Vision that Still Needs Time 173 Chapter Three: Pre-Conciliar Theologians and Lumen Gentium Usher in Pope John Paul II’s Millennial Program 175 Background and Influences on Pope John Paul II’s 176 Millennial Letters and Apology The Anonymous Memo 180 Tertio Millennio Adveniente 183 Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults 188 Of the Past The Papal Apology – March 12, 2000 194 Reactions to Pope John Paul II’s Decision to Ask for Forgiveness 197 Analysis of the Reactions 215 ii Next Steps – Novo Millennio Ineunte 219 Conclusion 222 Conclusion 223 Further Theological Considerations 226 Bibliography 233 iii Introduction On November 10, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, to the bishops, clergy, and lay faithful. In part four of this letter, John Paul II laid the groundwork for the unprecedented public apology for the sins of the Church as made manifest in its members, that he would go on to make during the Jubilee Year on March 12, 2000. John Paul II’s ground-breaking decision in Tertio Millennio Adveniente to apologize for the sins of the Church is the end result of an evolution in theology that began after World War I and came to fruition at the time of the Second Vatican Council. In this dissertation, I will examine how these new theological insights that came to the fore during the Second Vatican Council were not only reflective of ressourcement theology, that is, a theology that returned to the early sources of Christianity, particularly scripture and the writings of the early Fathers, but also opened up new vistas in understanding the holiness and sinfulness of the Church, which allowed for the apology of Pope John Paul II during the millennial celebration. In Tertio Millennio Adveniente Pope John Paul II presented his rationale for choosing to prepare for the Jubilee Year by asking for forgiveness: Nevertheless, the joy of every Jubilee is above all a joy based upon the forgiveness of sins, the joy of conversion.…Hence it is appropriate that, as the Second Millennium of Christianity draws to a close, the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly 1 forms of counter-witness and scandal (TMA 32, 33). 1 “Tertio Millennio Adveniente, John Paul II, 10 November 1994 - Apostolic Letter”, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_10111994_tertio-millennio- adveniente_en.html. (accessed December 16, 2010). 1 John Paul II, though he began by acknowledging that there is true joy in the celebration of a Jubilee, did not hesitate to call the entire Christian community, the entire Church to such a purification. However, he noted that such a call did not in any way detract from the Church’s innate holiness: Although she is holy because of her incorporation into Christ, the Church does not tire of doing penance: before God and man she always acknowledges as her own her sinful sons and daughters. As Lumen Gentium affirms: ‘The Church, embracing sinners to her bosom, is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal.’ The Holy Door of the Jubilee of the Year 2000 should be symbolically wider than those of previous Jubilees, because humanity, upon reaching this goal, will leave behind not just a century but a millennium. It is fitting that the Church should make this passage with a clear awareness of what has happened to her during the last ten centuries. She cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium without encouraging her children to purify themselves through repentance, of past errors and instances of infidelity, inconsistency, and slowness to act. Acknowledging the weaknesses of the past is an act of honesty and courage which helps us to strengthen our faith, which alerts us to face today’s temptations and challenges and prepares us to meet them2 (TMA 33). Acknowledging that the holy Church in its sons and daughters has been sinful and is in need of repentance that was the subject of much discussion and controversy as the Jubilee Year approached. Questions about exactly how the Church can be simultaneously sinful and holy abounded. How can sinners be part of the body of Christ? Since it is a given that the Church is composed of humans who sin, does the membership of sinners in the Church affect its holiness? What is ‘the church’ that is holy if all of its members are sinful? In this dissertation, I will trace the renewal of the Church’s self-understanding of being both holy and sinful to the impact of key works of theologians during the period of 1910 – 1960. 2 Ibid., citing Lumen Gentium 8. 2 At the beginning of the twentieth century, some theologians, particularly in France and Germany, were concerned that the neo-scholastic manuals, which had become the standard manner of theological education,3 were not addressing the needs and concerns of the Church in the modern era. These manuals followed a three-point approach to teaching, which began by explaining the Church’s teaching on a subject, demonstrated the truth of this teaching through the use of scripture and Tradition, and then applied them to concrete issues. The problem with the theology that emanated from these manuals was that it was defensive and apologetic.
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