Pope Benedict XVI's Legal Thought


Book Description

This book discusses the speeches in which the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reflected most explicitly on law, justice, democracy, and reason, along with the commentary from a number of distinguished legal scholars. Collectively, these addresses formulate a series of core ideas for a "public teaching" on the topic of justice and law.




Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law


Book Description

Intractable moral disagreements / Alasdair MacIntyre -- Does the natural law provide a universally valid morality? / Jean Porter -- Moral disagreement and interreligious conversation : the penitential pace of understanding / David A. Clairmont -- Prophetic rhetoric and moral disagreement / M. Cathleen Kaveny -- After intractable moral disagreement : the Catholic roots of an ethic of political reconciliation / Daniel Philpott -- Moral disagreement and the limits of reason : refections on Macintyre and Ratzinger / Gerald McKenny -- Ultimate ends and incommensurable lives in Aristotle / Kevin L. Flannery -- The foundation of human rights and canon law / John J. Coughlin -- The fearful thoughts of mortals : Aquinas on confict, self-knowledge, and the virtues of practical reasoning / Thomas Hibbs -- From answers to questions : a response to the responses / Alasdair MacIntyre.




The Pope and the World


Book Description

Pope Benedict XVI, while Pope, but also for years before that as Priest, Bishop, Theologian, Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has long engaged in a dialogue that has sought to clarify the relationship between the sacred and the secular. While initially considered progressive when engaged as peritus at the Second Vatican Council, the years have shown that he does not easily fit into any form of categorisation. While many of his peers have accused him of changing his views on the engagement of the Church in the world, Joseph Ratzinger argues that he has been consistent in his views while responding to a changing context. This book tracks the ideas of the Pope Emeritus across the years and across many themes as he battles with the rapidly changing modern world. It becomes clear that there has been no about-face in his positions over time, but, rather, that there is a definite consistency in his sense of directing the sacred--whether dealing with the Liturgy in a time of increasing worldliness or discussing the place of the faith in the civil-political sphere--across all spheres towards God and the transcendent. As he has lived and guided during an increasingly turbulent era for the Church, this has meant that his perspective and the clarity and precision of his words have placed him as a sign of contradiction in the world, just as he argues the Church should be.




International Law and...


Book Description

The European Society of International Law (ESIL) is known for its particularly dynamic character. After 10 years of existence it has proved that it is one of the most cutting-edge scholarly associations in the field of public international law. At its 10th Anniversary Conference in September 2014, which was held in Vienna, participants assembled in order to discuss 'International law and...', the proceedings of which are published here. Going beyond the usual related disciplines of political science, international relations, economics and history, this conference ventured into less well-trodden paths, exploring the links between international law and cinema, philosophy, sports, the arts and other areas of human endeavour. As the proceedings show, it is clear that international law has long been influenced by other fields of law and other disciplines. They also explore whether the boundaries of international law have been crossed and, if so, in what ways.




A Pluralist Theory of Constitutional Justice


Book Description

"Liberal constitutionalism has come under sharp attack as globalization led to a confluence of huge disparities in wealth, identity-based alienation triggered by mass migration, and accompanying erosions of democracy. Liberal constitutionalism has also been challenged by illiberal populists who have adapted its framework to mask their aim to subvert its core values. These developments bring the nexus between the constitution and justice to the fore--and in particular that concerning distributive justice in its three dimensions of redistribution, recognition, and representation. The book provides a systematic account of the central role of distributive justice in the normative legitimation of liberal constitutions. Because what distributive justice requires is highly contested, and constitutions are supposed to be susceptible of garnering a consensus among those they govern, constitutions only ought to guarantee essential but limited aspects of justice. Drawing on Rawls's insight that distributive justice calls for "constitutional essentials", the book advances the thesis that liberal constitutions must incorporate certain "justice essentials". The book is divided into three parts. Part one examines the combination of current legal, economic, political, and ideological developments that pose challenges to the normative viability of liberal constitutionalism. Part two offers a rereading of the relevant philosophical and jurisprudential literature that sheds crucial theoretical light on the relationship between constitution and justice. This rereading draws on key figures in both the analytic and the continental traditions. Finally, part three makes the case for a thoroughly pluralistic approach being optimal in the quest for a constitution's justice essentials"




Church Law in Modernity


Book Description

Discusses natural law as a traditional but highly contested source of canon law.




The Social and Political Thought of Benedict XVI


Book Description

Covering the entire trajectory of his religious life, this book identifies and analyzes the foundations of political and social order in the philosophy of Pope Benedict XVI. Thomas R. Rourke explains Benedict's belief in the value of the Christian tradition's contribution to a contemporary politics of reason.




Heart of the Christian Life


Book Description

The celebration of the Eucharist, in which Jesus Christ becomes present, is the center of the Catholic faith. This volume brings together substantive texts of the Holy Father on the many aspects and dimensions of the Mass and the Mystery of the Eucharist, a rich source for every Christian and a spur to reflection and personal prayer. Delivered in addresses and homilies to a wide variety of audiences, these reflections reveal the depth and breadth of Pope Benedict XVI's profound and life-long love for the Holy Eucharist. A major theme throughout the works of Joseph Ratzinger, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is the Church's source of life, unity and fruitfulness. This theme has been carried deeply into his pontificate, as can be seen in this collection, which challenges the faithful to believe that by receiving Christ in Holy Communion, they are drawn not only into the very life of God, but into the community that is Christ's Body, the Church.




St. Paul, the Natural Law, and Contemporary Legal Theory


Book Description

The editors of this unique collection of essays exploring the relationship of St. Paul and the natural law bring together contributions by scripture scholars, theologians, philosophers, and international lawyers. Inspired by the special Jubilee Year from June 2008 to June 2009 – proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 2,000-year anniversary of the birth of St. Paul – the chapters in this book are the fruit of the contributors’ collaboration during the celebration of the Year of St. Paul. They share a common appreciation of the natural law as a basis for civil law and contemporary legal theory, and each chapter examines the foundations of the natural law – particularly in the writings of St. Paul – giving special recognition to the Catholic contributions to natural law and contemporary legal theory.




Light Of The World


Book Description

Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in Light of the World. Taken from a recent week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time. Seewald poses such forthright questions to Pope Benedict as: What caused the clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Was there a "cover up"? Have you considered resigning? Does affirming the goodness of the human body mean a plea for "better sex"? Can there be a genuine dialogue with Islam? Should the Church rethink Catholic teaching on priestly celibacy, women priests, contraception, and same-sex relationships? Holy Communion for divorced-and-remarried Catholics? Is there a schism in the Catholic Church? Should there be a Third Vatican Council? Is there any hope for Christian unity? Is Christianity the only truth? Can the Pope really speak for Jesus Christ? How can the Pope claim to be "infallible"? Is there a "dictatorship of relativism" today? Twice before these two men held wide-ranging discussions, which became the best-selling books Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Then, Seewald's discussion partner was Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's chief doctrinal office. Now, Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world's over one billion Catholics. Though Seewald now interviews the Pope himself, the journalist "pulls no punches", posing some of the thorniest questions any Pope has had to address. Believers and unbelievers will be fascinated to hear Benedict's thoughtful, straightforward and thought-provoking replies. This is no stern preachment or ponderous theological tract, but a lively, fast-paced, challenging, even entertaining exchange.