Patristic Sources and Catholic Social Teaching
a Forgotten Dimension: A Textual, Historical, and Rhetorical Analysis of Patristic Source Citations in the Church's Social Documents
by B.J. Matz
The fact that over one hundred patristic sources may be found in the documents of Catholic social teaching (CST) would suggest that patristic sources have not been “forgotten” as the title to this book suggests. Yet, this study of every patristic source citation in twenty-one CST documents since the late nineteenth century suggests that just such a conclusion should be drawn. The CST documents in this study largely ignored the historical and literary contexts of the patristic sources, and this had the concomitant effect of limiting appropriation of the fullness of their arguments. In addition, most of the patristic citations do not reflect the socio-ethical concerns of the patristic authors themselves. Even when the patristic citations supported related, theological themes, usually they were relegated to footnotes. This is not a study of themes or of theologies in the CST documents, nor is it a study of the cultural and historical forces at work in the arguments made by those who drafted them. Rather, it is a study of the rhetorical, theological and/or pastoral function of each patristic source citation in the CST documents. In this respect, each CST document stands on its own as a rhetorical tour de force. For that reason, the study concludes with a vision for the “fair use” of patristic sources in future CST documents.
- By (author) BJ Matz
Other Titles in this Series
Faith and Culture
The Construction of a Christian Identity in Interaction with the Other World Religions in Education
Volume 54
Ongoing Renewal in the Church
Reflections from Patristic Tradition, Vatican II, and Pastoral Practice
Volume 82
Zwarte indianen en hun symbolen
Het magisch-religieuze systeem van de Garifuna van de Baai van Tela, Honduras
Volume 45
Het Mysterie van het «Lam Gods»
Filips de Goede en de Rechtvaardige Rechters van Van Eyck
Volume 63
Normativity of the Future
Reading Biblical and Other Authorative Texts in an Eschatological Perspective
Volume 61
Interspaces between Word, Gaze and Touch
The Bible and the Visual Medium in the Middle Ages. Collected Essays on Noli me tangere, the Woman with the Haemorrhage, the Head of John the Baptist
Volume 62
Verdwaald tussen liefde, macht en schuld
Een hermeneutisch model voor pastorale begeleiding van dader en slachtoffer bij seksueel misbruik van kinderen
Volume 49
Embraced by the Father and the Son in the Unity of the Holy Spirit
A Study of the Trinity and the Mystical Life in the Works of Jan van Ruusbroec
Volume 65
More than a Memory
The Discourse of Martyrdom and the Construction of Christian Identity in the History of Christianity
Volume 51
Das Konzil und die Seminare
Die Ausbildung der Priester in der Dynamik des Zweiten Vatikanums
Volume 48
Mystical Anthropology: Cross-Religious Perspectives
Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Arnhem Mystical Sermons and Sri Aurobindo
Volume 66
The Gospel Preached by the Deaf
Proceedings of a Conference on Deaf Liberation Theology held at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), May 19, 2003
Volume 52
Heurs et malheurs de la “collégialité”
Pontificats et Synodes face à la réception de Vatican II
Volume 69
Theologie als geloofsvertolking
Historische en theologische reflecties over het proefschrift van Piet Schoonenberg
Volume 73
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