Ecclesiology-The-Church's-regal office-Catholic-Social-Teaching-RCIA-2012)

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Session Title

Opening Prayer

references/sources

Content

Back to basics:

Catechism - Part I, The Profession of Faith.

    • Article 9: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church
      • Paragraph 3 The Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic paragraph 214-230
      • Paragraph 4 Christ's Faithful - Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life - paragraph 231-245
  • The Primacy of Peter and the Unity of the Church - One Lord, who assembled the Church as the new quahal/ecclesia of the People of God and left us his presence in the one Eucharist, which he offered and continues to offer through his representatives, the bishops. (Ratzinger 77-ff)
  • From the beginning, the Church has been a “top down” family, with Jesus at the top… Jesus was not elected by the Apostles, he chose them. Thus, our frame of reference must always be Christ governing his Church.

    The traditional concept of Christ “governing” the Church can never be separated from his identity as the Good Shepherd.

  • So, to maintain the unity of the Church, in and under Christ, the bishops have a responsibility (and authority) to govern the Church in his name.
  • Further – this new quahal/ecclesia is intended for all who accept it.

    There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28)

    thus it must be public, liberated, and accessible to all. Within this universal purview, the Church proposes her teaching as a guide for the governance of all peoples.

    “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (MT. 28:19-20)

  • Finally – The Church’s governing role is part of the governing role of Christ himself, by which he redeems/re-makes the world… restoring the world to the image and likeness of God… his image and likeness. In this way we participate in exercising dominion over all the earth (see. Genesis)

Social Teaching – the “how” of the regal office

  • Began to be enunciated as such in the 20th century by Pope Leo XIII. Just a few examples:
    • Leo XIII
      • Arcanum – on marriage family and the phenom. of divorce
      • Rerum Novarum – on the rights of workers and the dignity of work
    • Pius XI
      • Casti Conubii – the chastity before/in marriage
      • Quadragesimo Anno – on the reconstruction of social order 40 years after Rer. Nov.
    • Paul VI
      • Humanae Vitae – on marriage, human life, abortion, and Contraception
    • John Paul II
      • Centessimus Anno – on the 100th anniversary of Rer. Nov.
      • Evangelium Vitae – on human life issues
      • Laborem Exercens – on the dignity of human work
      • Solicitudo Rei Socialis – on the Church’s Social Teaching
      • Familiaris Consortio – on family life
    • Utilizes universally recognizable natural law reasoning Handout: Wuerl et. al. (ed.). The Gift of Faith. pp. 148-ff.
  • Review handout of introductory texts from The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
  • Review Compendium Table of Contents for survey of the scope of Social teaching.
  • Provide background information.

An encyclical is a letter from the Holy Father that is a “teaching document.” Its audience is every Catholic and all people of good will. A “social encyclical” applies the consistent, traditional moral teachings of the Church to the social and economic challenges of the current day. For example, the most recent social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, was written to address the current economic crisis and other issues facing the world today, and deals with moral aspects of economic life, poverty and development, human rights and duties, environmental responsibility, and other moral and economic issues.

What about the other churches?

  • The Church Fathers highlighted unity as the principal mark of the Church (cf. Ramsey)
    • Unity of faith – and thus of doctrine fed into the bishop’s governing office Faith in Christ demanded an adequate and unified answer to the question, “Who is Christ?” See – Christological controversies of the first five centuries
    • Unity of Love – unified by and in the loving salvific act of Christ. Thus, to violate the unity of the Church was considered a sin against both faith and charity.
  • The other Christian communities are split between three groups:
    • Non-Latin Catholics
    • Eastern Orthodox Churches
    • Western ecclesial communities (protestant reformation)
  • Note: difference between Church and ecclesial community
  • Comment on the development of spiritual ecumenism

Closing Prayer

Terms

  • Gloria Dei vivens homo - The glory of God is man fully alive. [1] St. Irenaeus
  • XX

Cultural Applications

Homework for next session



Give them an examen, to help prepare for Scrutinies

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