The Church: Evolution of Catholicism
Reviewed by Dr. Tom Malone
From an opening chapter on the content and scope of ecclesiology, McBrien traces its historical development from the post-biblical time to the post-Vatican II period (including for example the East-West Schism and the Protestant Reformation), ending with thoughtful reflections on the future of the Church and its ecclesiologies. From that vantage point, he describes ten pastoral applications that follow from the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World representing the ecclesiological mind of Vatican II. They are:
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fulfillment of the Church’s fourfold mission of preaching and teaching Jesus Christ’s gospel, celebrating the sacraments, renewal and reform and deploying available resources for the sake of those in need,
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dialogue and collaboration with other churches and ecclesial communities such as Judaism,
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pursuit of the content of Catholic social justice, peace, defense of human rights, advocacy and support of the poor, the powerless, and victims of discrimination,
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active but nonpartisan interest in the realm of the politics that address the needs of the poor and the powerless,
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reliance on the guidance by the Holy Spirit to lead the Church in spite of temporary setbacks in the work of the Church and its leadership at various levels,
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acceptance of the principle that the Church is both the People of God, a this-worldly reality built from the ground up and a community expressive of, and modeled after the inner communal life of the divine God,
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all authority in the Church is for service, never for domination or control,
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the process of formulating doctrine pronouncements and disciplinary decrees should involve in some representational way those who will be expected to embrace and abide by those doctrines and decrees,
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the major ministerial questions facing the Church today is whether all ministries, ordained as well a non-ordained, should be open to qualified women as they are to qualified men, and there should be the greatest treasure of freedom in the Church to develop the apostolate and new forms of religious communities. but always within the Church’s overall framework.
McBrien concludes his book by outlining five trends given emphasis by Vatican II and suggestive of the continued evolution and development of the Church and its ecclesiology during the next several decades:
First, the Church in the twenty-first century is likely to be more self-consciously catholic and less rigidly denominational, more self-consciously multicultural and less culturally monolithic as a consequence of revolutionary advances in communication and transportation. There is a greater effort now to relate Christianity to the other great religions of the world and to develop new understanding of salvation, not only outside the Catholic Church, but outside the body of Christ as a whole. Ecclesiology is assuming an interfaith as well as an ecumenical character.
Second, the growing ecumenicity of the Church will make past differences between Churches and ecclesial communities more cultural than theological and more political than doctrinal. Some forms of eucharistic sharing, common prayer, and collaboration in social ministry will emerge. The nature and exercise of authority, particularly of the papacy and of collegiality will be explored.
Third, the Church will be challenged to practice what it preaches and apply the main elements of its social teaching to itself. For example, women will be incorporated into the ministerial life of the Catholic Church, with no ordained ministry closed to them.
Fourth, the Church of the twenty-first century will be challenged to become even more fully committed to the quest for social justice, human rights, and peace.
Fifth, and finally, the Church will see itself not as a community apart from, or above, all others, but as a community in close relationship with all others in the human community and its family of religions.
In summary, this book is a notable and superb background for the development of a meaningful agenda for discussion among the diverse faith communities of the world, leading to a harmonious interaction that would ensure an attractive future for an evolving and expanding human race dependent on the natural resources of finite planet Earth. This is a challenge for which there should be an imaginative response.
Dr. Malone has been a tenured faculty member at MIT, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at The Travelers Insurance Company, National President of the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research (honor) Society, and Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences. He has been honored nationally and internationally for initiatives in collaborative research.
