Digital Commons Network^™

The Church In Dialogue With Other Religions In The Postmodern World: Reflecting Beyond Nostra Aetate., Daniel Aboagye Adjei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The church has accomplished tremendous strides in interfaith dialogue within the past fifty-two years after the promulgation of Nostra Aetate, the declaration which opened a positive and revolutionary avenue for the church in her dialogical encounter with the non-Christian religions. This project praises Nostra Aetate for the bold step in entering the unfamiliar terrain in the church’s dialogue with non-Christian religions, by affirming in these religions “ray of truth,” “seed of the gospel,” element of “truth and holy” and reproving as foreign to the Christian faith any discrimination and harassment against people based on culture, race, condition in life and …

The Salvation Of The Cosmos: Benedict Xvi's Eschatology And Its Relevance For The Current Ecological Crisis, Jeremiah Vallery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has elements of a cosmic eschatology embedded in his theological oeuvre that have not heretofore been extensively systematized. This dissertation fills this gap by contextualizing Benedict’s cosmic eschatology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, examining his Logos theology and his view on the fate of the cosmos, exploring his cosmic liturgy, and evaluating his concept of human ecology and pneumatology. Benedict insufficiently links his cosmic eschatology to his papal teachings on the environment; however, his cosmic eschatology can be developed in fruitful ways. After providing a thorough articulation of Benedict’s cosmic eschatology, I offer my own …

The First Life Journey Of Many: The Lived Experience Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning Individuals Who Were Raised Within The Catholic Church On Their Coming Out Process, Michelle Colarusso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) adults encounter societal challenges, pushback from religious organizations, and discrimination from lawmakers which interfere with their ability to come out as their true selves. This qualitative, phenomenologically oriented study explored the LGBTQ identity and practicing Catholic religious beliefs in an attempt to develop a rich description and understanding of the experience of LGBTQ individuals’ coming out process in relation to the practice of Catholic religious beliefs. The central research question that guided this inquiry was the following: What are the lived experiences of persons who identify as Catholic and who have come out as …

Hospitality In Communication: Applying The Rule Of Saint Benedict To The Home, Karen Fetter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hospitality is a tradition that has been immersed into all cultures for thousands of years. Philosophically and religiously, it has roots among ancient philosophers and in the Bible. Before the modern technologies and development of the tourism industry, hospitality was found in churches and monasteries. The reciprocal relationship between the host and the stranger give metaphorical meanings to life in general because it is how we treat each other that forms the moral balance in society and gives the human person what is necessary for a healthy and full life. St. Benedict was a man who experienced the benefits of …

Sacramental Theology Of Elochukwu Uzukwu In Light Of Vatican Ii And Its Application In African Contexts, Emmanuel Osigwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recognition of the indispensable intersection of faith and culture has become a major trend in the contemporary theology. This renewed approach emphasizes various anthropologies and cultures as locations of divine activity. Specifically, the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of sacraments as pneumatological, and ecclesiological, beyond the dominant Christological motif, and its call for profound adaptation gives a wide latitude for rethinking the sacraments. This provision overcomes the danger of enforcing a monocultural model of sacramental celebration, which can submerge local voices and separate sacramentality from symbols and values that resonate differently with various peoples and cultures. This dissertation shows how Elochukwu …

The Normative Approach Of The Catholic Tradition In The Ethical And Religious Directives For Resolving Ethical Dilemmas Regarding Medical Technology, David G. Garvis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation engages the Catholic Tradition enunciated in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to provide a normative approach for resolving ethical dilemmas regarding pivotal breakthroughs in medical technology.

This normative ethical approach has two components: a normative framework for Catholic health care ethics that adopts practical ethical principles as enunciated in the Ethical and Religious Directives (Chapter 2) and secular decision-making models in organizational and clinical ethics that are consistent with the Catholic Tradition (Chapter 3).

At the end of the theoretical analysis in these chapters, the conclusion to Chapter 3 explains how this normative …