Our Sunday Visitor ' s Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine
Shaw, Russell
NOT THE WHOLE STORY Joseph A. Komonchak his volume is offered as a complement to the Catechism of the Catholic Church by expanding on some points of doctrine in the latter, integrating...
...All in all, one might say that this volume reads Vatican II and, indeed, the whole doctrinal tradition in the light of the Catechism, the Catechism in the light of the teachings of John Paul II, and John Paul II in the light of certain perceptions of what is most needed in the United States today to oppose the "confusion, controversy, and dissent" which the editor thinks the Catechism was chiefly designed to address...
...1915-45...
...Anglicanism, and Orthodoxy are separately treated, but a single article on Protestantism suffices for other Christian groups...
...The vindication of hierarchy and authority is a regular theme, with dissent the subject of an often oversimplified treatment in nineteen different places...
...Those of us who make regular pilgrimages to Italy may feel the t r u t h of Moore's observation, but do we understand it...
...Prominence in the Catechism obviously plays some role...
...and 1945-94...
...Among philosophies one finds Neoplatonism, Phenomenology, and Process Theology, but not Aristotelianism and Platonism, never mind Hegelianism, Kantianism, and Marxism...
...NOT THE WHOLE STORY Joseph A. Komonchak his volume is offered as a complement to the Catechism of the Catholic Church by expanding on some points of doctrine in the latter, integrating scattered material, and providing historical background and pastoral insights...
...You will not often find here much indication that other ways of ordering or stating Catholic doctrine, or even for reading and interpreting the tradition, Vatican II, the Catechism, and the magisterium of the present pope, and the contemporary situation, are poss i b l e - a n d trustworthy, f3 The Reverend Joseph A. Komonchak holds the Johrl and Gertrude Hubbard Chair in Religious Stltdies at The Catholic University of America...
...it is less clearly the explanation of the articles on Diabolical Possession, Divination, Freemasonry, Magic, New Age, and Theosophy, which also are hardly major concerns in the Catechism...
...for example, the article "Jesus Christ, Life of" discusses the mysteries of his life, with scant reference to his time, place, culture, or teachings or to the latest wave of interest in the historical Jesus and the theological questions it raises...
...For example, the idea of the one church as the communion of the many churches hardly appears...
...the short entry on Ecumenism does not do justice either to the present pope or to Vatican II...
...A surprising omission is any special treatment of psychology or of religious experience, the latter being a favored interest of the present pope...
...The articles devoted to the liturgy are also generally well done...
...If this is what you are looking for in an encyclopedia, this is, as the dust jacket promises, "a resource GOING HOME Robert E. Proctor he architect Charles Moore once said to my brother, also an architect, that "going to Italy is like going home...
...Various "isms" are treated: Agnosticism, Atheism, Gnosticism, Jansenism, Manichaeism, Modernism, Quietism, Relativism, Subjectivism, but one would have to dig for other errors or heresies...
...World religions receive attention: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism...
...Of the fathers and doctors of the church there are articles on only Augustine and Thomas, the latter, unfortunately, treated almost entirely as a philosopher...
...on Abortion, Assisted Suicide, Contraception, Genetic Experimentation, Prenatal Diagnosis, Reproductive Techn o l o g i e s , and E u t h a n a s i a ; on Consequentialism, Proportionalism, and Teleological Ethics...
...the article on membership in the church ignores the most important element in the council's description of full incorporation...
...Many cross-references and a lengthy index will often help the reader supply for any want of completeness or accuracy in individual articles, although the admittedly unconventional character of the index does not make it very userfriendIy...
...The dust jacket says that it was "reviewed by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Catechism and found to be consistent and in conformity with the Catechism qf the Catholic Church...
...It is a real challenge to tell the full story of Italy well because the striking clarity of her cultural achievements is matched by the confusing complexity of her hisCommonweal 3 6 April 10, 1998...
...the Renaissance (1250-1600...
...By far the best group of articles are those devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which stand out for their treatment of the Bible and the history of doctrines and devotions and for the balance of their presentation...
...When looking for help on topics such as Love, Mass, Mortal Sin, Natural Law, Teresa of Avila, and Thomas Aquinas, it is frustrating to find the word "passim...
...The church is treated in many scattered articles, which often fall short of Vatican II and of the Catechism on several issues...
...The articles on Church and State and on Religious Freedom nearly ignore the church's official practice and teaching from the Middle Ages to the Second Vatican Council...
...Contemporary relevance is evident in articles on Animals and the Environment...
...The Oxford History of Italy offers some answers to that question...
...the Middle Ages (400-1250...
...The many articles on Jesus Christ are examples of what we used to call dogmatic theology, with few bows to history, ancient or modern...
...The editor and publisher may be congratulated for having produced a generally well-integrated, moderately priced, and handsomely printed volume, mercifully free of typographical errors...
...Where the reason for these choices is evident they usually seem related, first, to subjects of some concern and even controversy in the United States and/or, second, to prominent themes in the magisterium of Pope John Paul II, whose writings are so abundantly cited that the volume might also be read as a companion to his teachings...
...on the Fatherhood of God, Women, Ecclesial and Social Roles of, and Women, Ordination of...
...the Risorginlento (1796-1870...
...the criterion for the choice of these topics and of others is not always evident...
...What kind of home can this be, especially for those not of Italian origin...
...The articles vary greatly in length and technical quality, the longer ones being signed, and are provided with minimal bibliographies and, usually, with references to the appropriate passages in the Catechism...
...The chapters follow the fairly standard divisions of Italian history: classical antiquity beginning with Augustus...
...authors, most of whom teach in British universities, the volume covers the story of Italy from the reign of the Emperor Augustus to 1994, when the coalition government headed by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi collapsed...
...With only two exceptions, each historical period is covered by two chapters, one devoted to politics and society, the other to culture...
...Having myself edited a theological dictionary, I am aware of the difficulties of such an enterprise, which begin with the selection of topics, decisions about relative length and prominence and the choice of authors, and end with having to deal with the varying quality of articles submitted, differences in perspective and position, etc...
...Composed of twelve chapters by as many different you can trust...
...the relation between the Catholic church and other Christian churches is not addressed (the council's famous statement that the church of Christ "subsists in" the Catholic church is ignored...
...the Age of Baroque and Rococo (t6001796...
...Forty authors, most of them Americans and theologians, contributed articles on topics from "Abortion" to "Worship...
...and the periods 1870-1915...
...the regional dimensions of episcopacy and collegiality are underplayed...
...Short of reproducing the index of the Catechism, the editor had to make choices...
...While three articles covering nine columns are devoted to Faith, less than one coIumn each was thought to suffice for Hope and Charity...
...While titled an encyclopedia of doctrine, this volume contains articles also on some Catholic practices, devotions, and institutions...
...They are a model that one wishes had been followed by other articles on major themes, which either entirely omit or too rapidly pass over historical developments and often simply ignore key questions about the use of the Bible and challenges posed Commonweal 3 5 April 10, 1998 by modern science, history, and philosophy...
...The treatment of the Christian God is left in unintegrated form in two articles, one largely philosophical ("God") and the other theological ("Trinity...
...The major theological topics are, of course, covered, at varying depths and with varying success...
Vol. 125 • April 1998 • No. 7
