NEW CATHOLICITY: Theology Between the Global and the Local (Faith & Cultures) [Paperback]

The New Catholicity, for anyone familiar with the work and thought of Robert Schreiter, unsurprisingly combines intellectual rigor and accessibility, while addressing key issues in modern Catholic missiology and ecclesiology in a highly original and stimulating manner. The major issue for anyone approaching this book will be whether or not they agree with Schreiter's understanding of how the Catholic Church should be evolving, in terms of both its own self-understanding, and in its approach to cultural and religious contexts that are - and will always remain - fundamentally alien to the primarily European context of much of the Church's current doctrine and legal structure. Missiology is perhaps the forgotten battle ground of liberal and conservative Catholic theology, although its importance should not be underestimated. With the rapid evolution of the global Church, and the reduction in the number of Catholics in both the Old World and in the United States, the ascendency of ideas, such as those adumbrated by Schreiter in this book, will have a disproportionate impact on how the majority of Catholics in the latter part of the 21st century understand what it is to be Catholic. It may well be the case that books like this will have a far greater impact on the faithful in the years to come than most Catholic theology done in the past five hundred years. This may be a cause of alarm, or rejoicing, for Catholics, depending on their theological viewpoint. However one views this books, it does raise challenging questions as to how Catholicity should be understood in the context of the global Church, and in light of the renewed theological understanding of ecclesiology emergent from the Vatican II Council. Ultimately, I find myself drawing back from some of the conclusions in this book, not because I necessarily disagree with them, but because I question how the Catholic Church, as it currently exists, can really incorporate some of Schreiter's most sweeping conclusions, without risking complete disintegration into a union of localized, autonomous churches. Of course, if one favors a return to the first centuries of Christianity, then perhaps such a scenario is to be welcomed, and even encouraged. And yet, a return to the idyllic eden of the early Christians is rarely as simple, or even as desirable, as it is often assumed to be. The tortured aftermath of the Vatican II council should show us that the modern Church, can not be reduced to the church of 500 AD, nor can it be reinvented as the church of the 2000. The Catholic Church, for better or for worse, is formed and defined by the full twenty centuries of its historical and theological development. The challenge is to in some way affirm - or conserve - the artifacts of that historical and theological development, while ensuring that the Church is open to the new challenges of the modern age. Schreiter certainly attempts to approach this challenge, and offer his own solutions. However, his success in doing this is not unqualified, and will depend in large part on how important one consider the visible unity of the Catholic Church to be. Having read this book, the reader must pause, and ask himself or herself whether the radically expanded understanding of Catholicity envisaged by Schreiter can in fact transform the Catholic Church into a truly global church, while preserving the Church as a coherent institutional and juridical entity. In my opinion, it can not, and it is for this reason that I must give a qualified recommendation for this very interesting and provocative book.