Search

When I look back, I recognise that there has been a will other than mine that has been guiding me towards and along the path of artistic creation. As a believer, I identify this will with divine Providence, which opens the doors through which I must pass. Thus, I acknowledge in my artistic work a vocation, a call to which I must respond, and I find myself in the need to put the talents I have received at the service of this special mission. Along my journey, I have encountered various texts that have helped me understand what this vocation consists of, among them two have deeply touched me, Rodin's Artistic Testament and Saint John Paul II's Letter to Artists. Thanks to them, I have discovered that art can be a good means to understand reality and make it understood, or that it can be a suitable means to praise and give thanks to God for all the blessings He gives us. Beauty plays a leading role in all of this. Its relationship with truth particularly interests me because it serves me as a guide in my creations. As Rodin has taught me, I seek above all that my works reveal the true character that lies beneath the forms, since when we find truth, inevitably we find beauty as well. To achieve this, I use both painting and sculpture, working with very specific materials that I try to shape. Material reality makes physical what is not, art has the ability to make the invisible visible, I consider it to have an almost sacramental dimension and therefore the materials and the way of using them are of great importance. I highly value technique, which I try to master in order to express myself with true freedom. Every work of art can be an open window to transcendence, but sacred art destined for liturgy or devotion must strive to achieve this. To do this, I believe it is good to draw from the masters of the past, to maintain continuity in the use of symbolism and iconography, and I see a certain degree of figuration is necessary to make the biblical characters and scenes recognisable and thus be a catechetical vehicle. All this does not equate to imitating styles of the past since there is room for each artist to express themselves according to their own personality and for the result to be a product of their time.

This article examines the communication strategies of the Popes of the Catholic Church in response to cases of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church. The authors are interested in how the official communications of the last three popes address this sensitive topic and how the Holy See's discourse on sexual abuse is developed. The article analyses the official texts of the Holy See signed by the Popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis), taking into account the historical development and current trends in the way they communicate. The authors focus on the communication strategies used and on the naming of the situation and the expression of the relations with victims, representatives of the Church, the faithful and the public. They point out how the Popes applied elements of crisis communication in response to these controversial events. Based on the content and thematic analysis, the text shows that the Catholic Church Popes' communication regarding sexual abuse has been different. While John Paul II avoided the topic in official communication and Benedict XVI linked it to the overall decline of the faith, Francis relates sexual abuse to clericalism and the abuse of power in the Church in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, I argue that post-conciliar Catholic ecumenical discourse responds to anxieties about unity and identity in ecumenical encounter by turning to translation metaphors. Such metaphors, I suggest, fail to give an account of dialogue-across-difference that preserves the identity of both participants, but they do accurately describe the trans-formative effect such dialogue has on one's own tradition. Thus, while translation metaphors may not work to describe the ecumenical vision of Vatican II, they may be useful in describing the ecumenical reality of the 1960s charismatic renewal. Moreover, I suggest that such an understanding of translation offers us a space to think creatively about that renewal's theological significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of Cultural Studies / Roczniki Kulturoznawcze is the property of John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Institute of Cultural Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Annals of Cultural Studies / Roczniki Kulturoznawcze is the property of John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Institute of Cultural Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives The article outlines the role of John Paul II's pontificate as shown in the broadcasts of Radio Free Europe’s Polish Broadcasting Station from 1978 to 1994. Material and methods For this purpose, selected programmes available on Radio Liberty’s website were examined. The source material was compared with press publications in the monthly Na Antenie. The literature on the subject, including memoirs, letters, biographies and academic studies, provided the background for further consideration. The primary methods used in the article included media and press content analysis and critical analysis of the literature. A comparative analysis of the information contained in various sources was also useful. Results The analysis proved that radio broadcasts on the Pope were not only of religious, social and political natures, but also cultural. Considerable airtime was devoted to reports of papal pilgrimages to Poland, coverage of special speeches and day-to-day statements made by the Pope about current events in the country. Conclusions Considerable airtime was devoted to reports of papal pilgrimages to Poland, coverage of special speeches and day-to-day statements made by the Pope about current events in the country, including the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarity, martial law, the imprisonment of Lech Walesa, and the killing of Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko. Both the election to the Holy See and details of the assassination attempt on the Pope in 1981 were covered. Original recordings of John Paul II's homilies, sermons and reflections were promoted.

Throughout his academic and pontifical teachings, Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II’s reference to the three transcendentals –the verum, the bonum, and the pulchrum– has been constant. This article exposes the thought of Pope Wojtyla regarding beauty from a triple perspective: first, beauty as splendor, both of the glory of God and of truth and goodness. Second, beauty as a gift or participation, manifested in the case of creative genius and human love. Finally, and as a synthesis of the previous two, beauty as a way to delve into the mystery of man, the world and God (the via pulchritudinis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethos (0860-8024) is the property of John Paul II Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Modern Science is the property of Alcide De Gasperi University of Euroregional Economy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this article is to present the role of Pope John Paul II in the overthrow of the Communist system in Central Europe based primarily on the scientific literature on the subject and the published documents. The author's attention is focused, for obvious reasons, on Poland, as well as on neighbouring countries with a significant number of Catholics within their borders: Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Republic of Lithuania within the Soviet Union. John Paul II's visit to the People's Republic of Poland on 2-10 June 1979 went down in history as "nine days that changed the world". The pilgrimage was the catalyst for changes in social awareness in Poland, leading to the creation of Solidarity in 1980. In the following years, the pope sustained the spirit of resistance in Polish society during the harsh period of martial law and beyond. Under his inspiration, the church played a mediating role in the 1989 Round Table talks between the authorities and the opposition. The election of Karol WojtyÅ,a, a cardinal from a neighbouring country, and the subsequent activities of the new pope had a profound impact on the revival of the religious life of Catholics in Czechoslovakia and Lithuania. Breaking the barrier of fear resulted in more substantial involvement of Catholics in opposition activities. The revival of the Church in Hungary was less successful, but the personality and teaching of John Paul II encouraged Catholics in that country, too, in opposition activities against the Communist regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Theology & Morality / Teologia I Moralmosc is the property of Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza (IH UAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ethos (0860-8024) is the property of John Paul II Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

HROMJÁK, Ľuboslav. The Contribution of Pope John Paul II for the Slavs in the Modern History of the Cyrilo-Methodian Cult. In this study, the author, based on the historical context of Cyrilo-Methodism in the 19th and 20th centuries, highlights the importance of Pope John Paul II for the Slavs and its importance in consolidating Cyrilo-Methodism in modern history through the publication of the papal letter Egregiae virtutis and the encyclical Slavorum apostoli. Great emphasis is placed on the contribution of John Paul II for the Slavic world by the declaration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius as patrons of Europe. Pope John Paul II contextualizes the Catholic Slavism of Leo XIII as its successor in the 20th century. By the declaration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius as patrons of Europe, according to the author, the Pope pursued two intentions: ecumenical and civilizing. He presented Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the context of Catholic Slavism as a civilizational and ecumenical bridge between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. John Paul II as the only Slavic pope on Peter's throne, he was the only one who could highlight the example of Sts. Cyril and Methodius for Western Europe, in search of Europe's spiritual roots. In this study, the author also points out the importance of the apostolic letter in the Slovak Catholic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sacrum et Decorum is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The problem of dealing justly and efficiently with the most serious crimes in the Church after the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law in 1983 became the concern of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Benedict XVI, and John Paul II. Their cooperation and the decisions of Benedict XVI, as a continuation of the path started, laid the foundations for the creation of a system of canonical criminal law capable of responding properly and effectively to the most serious crimes committed by the faithful in the Church. The introduction of a clear scope of competence for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the definition of a longer limitation period, the possibility of revoking it, the centralization of procedural steps, entrusting them to qualified personnel, enabling the control of the action of individual superiors are very concrete legal solutions that confirm the teaching of the Church and the definite statements of the two Popes on the protection of the most vulnerable in the Church from the immense harm of sexual abuse that some clerics could commit against them. The article presents and discusses concrete legal solutions and relates them with the teachings and attitudes of the two popes towards protecting minors in the Church. It is an attempt to argue for the defense of their good names and to oppose the unfounded accusations made against these two authorities.

Twenty-five years ago, John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et ratio was published, where the question of truth occupies a central place. The task of the Church is to transmit to people the truth revealed by Jesus Christ, which discloses the mystery of God and man, is accessible in faith, and appeals to the intellect to accept it. In these times, dominated by a pragmatic approach to reality, a question arises about the practical, existential meaning of the truth proclaimed by the Church. The content analysis of the papal teaching in “Fides et ratio” leads to the conclusion that the truth cannot be reduced to a set of ideas that enrich human cognition. Therefore, the ecclesial ‘diakonia’ of truth serves human life because it helps man use his freedom properly and leads him to the fullness of humanity. The truth allows man to protect himself from relativism and religious egalitarianism threats. The communication of truth should consider people’s needs to perceive it as a precious gift from God, not as a yoke.

This article shows the role and influence of the socio-political activities of Pope John Paul II on the socio-political processes in Poland, which led to the fall of the socialist system in Europe. The article provides answers to the following questions: How did John Paul II, based on his personal political beliefs, use the influence of the religious factor of the head of the Roman Catholic Church on socio-political processes in Poland? What was his role in changing the constitutional order in the Polish People's Republic? How did the change of the socio-political system in Poland affect the collapse of the socialist camp in Europe? Was there a relationship between the socio-political activities of John Paul II and the processes of "perestroika" in the Soviet Union? The answers to these questions will make it possible to understand the origins of socio-political changes in Eastern European states, primarily in Poland, and the USSR in the late 1970s and early 1990s.

Max Weber’s thesis on the decisive influence of Protestant ethic on the formation and development of modern capitalism has become one of the best-known and widely shared canonical claims in social sciences. Since its publication at the beginning of the 20th century, this thesis, supported by subsequent great works by the German classic, has rarely been the subject of major controversy. The work of correcting Weber’s thesis was undertaken in the late 20th century by Michael Novak. Novak’s correction is not confrontational, but complementary. The American thinker abandons the research area of minority Protestant communities, which caught Weber’s attention, and undertakes an analysis of the broader religious tradition, developing both before and after the Reformation. In particular, the achievements of Pope John Paul II, interpreted by Novak in terms of the renewal of a liberty current of Catholic social thought, provide important corrective data.

Catholicism has long been hostile towards Jews. It has even been claimed that its anti-Judaism was the matrix of twentieth-century anti-Semitism. This contribution sets out to show that the pontificate of John Paul II marks a break in the history of the Church in this respect. A relative break perhaps: the Polish Pope is following in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose major texts, the declaration Nostra aetate (1965), revokes the idea of the Jewish people's guilt in Christ's death sentence and accepts that the Jews are still part of the Alliance with God. However, there was one decisive break: influenced by his education between the wars, which brought him into contact with nineteenth-century literature favourable to an inclusive nationalism, he accentuated the “philo-Judaism” of the conciliar period by developing a new approach to the Jewish community, linking recognition of the State of Israel with a request for forgiveness for the sins of Christians addressed to the “Jewish People”.

AbstractThe purpose of the text is to analyze the leadership of Pope John Paul II in Poland from the 1970s to the present, showing the changes in the perception of the pope’s leadership during three different phases. In the communist period the papal leadership focused on social justice issues; during the transitional period on religious issues; and in the final, contemporary phase, it is perceived as part of Polish identity. The change in the perception of the papal leadership was linked not only to political changes, but also to processes in Polish society, including increasing secularization.

The aim of the article is to discuss John Paul Us visit in Gniezno on his first pilgrimage to his country. The research problem is to analyze all the papal speeches made in Gniezno on June 3 and 4,1979 and to show the significance of their content for the subsequent changes that occurred in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The Pope delivered important speeches in this city in the form of homilies and catecheses addressed to different groups of people. He touched upon vital topics relating to the gift of baptism and responsibility for its fruits, the historical role of Saint Adalbert, the contemporary evangelizing mission of the Church and primateship. The author argues that the Pope took advantage of the Pentecost celebrations topresent a new vision of a united Europe that breathes with "two lungs" - eastern and western. The Popes conception was based on the idea of Pentecostes Slavae (Pentecost of the Slavs). It was only possible to implement after the changes of1989. Nonetheless, the visit to Gniezno on June 3-4,1979, served as a herald of transformations not just in Poland, but across Central and Eastern Europe. The following methods were used: philological and comparative, which took into account both the context of the papal statements and how they impacted the audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the text is to analyze the leadership of Pope John Paul II in Poland from the 1970s to the present, showing the changes in the perception of the pope's leadership during three different phases. In the communist period the papal leadership focused on social justice issues; during the transitional period on religious issues; and in the final, contemporary phase, it is perceived as part of Polish identity. The change in the perception of the papal leadership was linked not only to political changes, but also to processes in Polish society, including increasing secularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karol Wojtyła’s seminal essay, “Thomistic Personalism,” presents an integral theory of the human person that may serve as the foundation for an authentically personalist psychology. Relevant to the contemporary field of psychology, which appears fragmented and in search of a unifying paradigm, Wojtyła considered theory (anthropology), research (epistemology), and practice (ethics). In terms of research, he identified four complementary methods of understanding the human person: revelation (theology), reason (philosophy), observation (empiricism), and introspection (experience). In terms of theory, Wojtyła addressed the rudiments of Rychlak’s four dimensions of a personality theory: structure, motivation, development, and personality. In terms of practice, he described four guiding ethical principles: freedom for morality, freedom for love, personal good and common good, and transtemporal values. Wojtyła thus offered an outline for the project of a comprehensive psychology of persons with significant implications for the theory, research, and practice of psychology.

In the document Letter of his Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists, John Paul II pointed out that artists, with their creation, perform a professional social service for the benefit of the common good through the "spirituality of artistic service", which, through the perspective of "educational art," contributes to the life and revival of the individual and society. Since that document does not specify what a model of such spirituality would consist of, the goal of this paper is to offer a proposal for the theoretical elaboration of its potential framework. The topic is discussed from the perspective of Christian theological aesthetics. The starting point for the development of the spirituality of the artistic service model is Christian artistic creation. The indicated theoretical framework of the spirituality of artistic service is based on three dimensions of Christian artistic creation. The first represents Christian artistic creation that points to the depths of the mystery of the sacred through Christian symbols. The second dimension of Christian artistic creation relies on the contemporary form of religious imagery in changed cultural circumstances in order to adequately present a transcendent perspective of the meaning of existence. The third dimension of Christian artistic creation awakens admiration in the recipients through artistic contemplation, thus enabling a spiritual transformation and serving as the bearer of eschatological hope. In the end, it is shown that this model of spirituality in artistic service can serve as a good theoretical framework for the implementation of three new dimensions of Christian art suitable for the contemporary cultural environment: mystagogic, existential, and contemplative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research overviews of and historiography on the attitude of the Catholic Church and theologians towards athletes with intellectual and physical disabilities assume that the Church and theologians have only very recently begun to interest themselves in this subject. Starting from John Paul II's contribution to this field, and above all from his integral anthropological vision, this article assesses his position by comparing it with that of his two successors Benedict XVI and Francis. Especially the latter's addresses and interviews and the official documents on sport issued by the Holy See during his pontificate are testimony to his special commitment to athletes with disabilities. The article also examines the history of the Holy See and studies its attention to athletes with a disability. The results of this inquiry are that papal interest in this field is not limited to, nor did it start with the pontificate of John Paul II. Instead, it dates from the very beginning of the modern phenomenon of sport, with Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th century, continued by Pius XII and John XXIII. The latter's speech to the participants of the first Paralympic Games in 1960 is the strongest indication of a pre-John Paul II affirmation of disabled sport. This points to the importance of taking a more nuanced position in the current debate, although it is clear that Pope Francis must be considered the champion of the Holy See's commitment to the inclusion of athletes with a disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of interest in the paper is the comic book biography The Life of Pope John Paul II. In the 1980s, John Paul II was not only treated as the head of the Catholic Church, but held a place in popular culture. The article points out that the Marvel comic book was one of the works that positioned the Pope within an axiological community of superheroes who, in the most general perspective, showed what a life full of heroism should look like. Thus, the paper analyses the elements of the superhero rhetorical model and features typical of the comic medium that highlight the uniqueness of John Paul II’s biography. Furthermore, to fully reveal the persuasiveness of the creative solutions employed in this work, situating the Pope between a man and a superhero, the author refers to the analytical propositions of Roland Barthes and Michał Rusinek concerning the rhetoric of visual representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Poznan Theological Studies / Poznanskie Studia Teologiczne is the property of Adam Mickiewicz University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Teologia w Polsce is the property of Society of Dogmatic Theologians and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Gdańskie is the property of Gdanskie Seminarium Duchowne, Kuria Metropolitalna Gdanska and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Roman College of Holy Mary was established by the founder of Opus Dei in 1953 to provide a better preparation for the women who would undertake tasks of formation and government in a number of different countries. From 1959 and 1962 the College was closed. The reopening took place in Castel Gandolfo in 1963, with a special feature: studies in Pedagogy. This article describes the process of the acquisition of the premises, the vision of the founder of Opus Dei, the evolution and objective of these courses in education, and the meetings of the students and lecturers with Paul VI and John Paul II.

This article deals with a radical change in the religious politics of the Soviet government between 1987 and 1988. Then, the celebration of the 1000th Anniversary of the Christianization of Rus’ became not only a Church issue but also an event of great political significance. Additionally, the official visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to the Vatican was designed in this period. The author argues that the communication problems which Gorbachev faced during his negotiations with Ronald Reagan in Geneva, Reykjav?k, and Moscow were the reason for this change. Since the anti-religious policy of the Soviet Union was one of the main obstacles to rapprochement between Reagan’s administration and the Soviet government, Gorbachev and his advisers decided to revise their approach to the Church issues. The author also assumes that Pope John Paul II unofficially played an important role in the negotiations between the US diplomats and the Soviet government. According to the article, the “Holy Alliance” between Reagan and Pope John Paul II had a significant impact on this negotiation process. Gorbachev’s visit to the Vatican was, in the author’s view, a link in the chain of events which led to the changes of Soviet religious politics. The legalization of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church was, according to the author, a price to pay for the normalization of the relationships both with the Vatican and with the USA. Based on recently published and unpublished sources, the author describes this process in a broad historical context and analyze the attitude of both the Russian Orthodox Church and the Holy See towards the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, religious freedom, and the role of religion in the public sphere.

The study presents three images of St. Joseph included in selected writings of the last three popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. It notes that despite the same data from Scripture, the analysed images are different. Their diversity results from different sources used in theological reflection as well as from different methods of interpretation. John Paul II interprets the figure of the Guardian of the Redeemer in the light of God revealing Himself, carrying out His eternal plan. The emphasis was placed on God’s eternal plan that was actualized in earthly history and in human events. This made it possible to show both the realization of the divine plan in concrete terms, as well as the cooperation, faith and obedience of the carpenters of Nazareth in this work. In turn, Cardinal Ratzinger shows the figure of Joseph based on the message contained in a Baroque relief of a Portuguese altar. The symbolic language of the anonymous sculptor and the message contained in the Baroque relief allowed the theologian to draw attention to certain aspects that are difficult to see in the Gospels of Childhood. On the other hand, the image of Joseph presented by Pope Francis emphasizes the paternity of the Patriarch, expressing a certain analogy to the paternity of God towards Israel and the paternity of God to His Son. From this perspective, Joseph’s paternity appears to be a shadow of God’s paternity. This term refers to the title of a novel by Jan Dobraczyński, the message of which influenced the content of the theological icon in the document of Pope Francis. This study found that, despite the limited data on Joseph in Scripture, thanks to the theological sources used and the new interpretative methods used, it was possible to show new, original images of the Guardian of the Redeemer, which allow future generations of Christians to better understand the role and place of St. Joseph in the history of salvation and in the life of the Church.

Edith Stein is widely recognised as a saint, a martyr, a victim of the Holocaust and a female philosopher – but can she be a Doctor of the Church? So far, thirty-seven figures, including four women, carry the title due to their so-called ‘eminent doctrines’, eminentes doctrinae. For centuries, a procedural difficulty existed in awarding the titles to martyrs, however, in the second decade of the 21st century, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints reached a conclusion that martyrdom is not, in principle, an obstacle in awarding the title. A question, therefore, can be posed: does the legacy of someone among the Christian martyrs fulfill the criteria of the Church’s Doctorate? The aim of this article is to investigate the criteria for conferral of the title of the Doctor of the Church, prime among which is a criterion called eminens doctrina, and apply them to one example, that of Edith Stein. In doing so, I consider the question purely historically and philosophically, starting out with definitions of the Father of the Church and the Doctor of the Church in part one (published in June 2023, no 1, p. 131–149). In the second part of the article (available below), I ask what aspects of the female martyr’s theology, philosophy and spirituality fulfill the criteria of an eminent doctrine, as formulated in the Church’s documents, and which are insufficient or lacking. In order to highlight the nature of a particular criterion, I contrast Stein’s case with other recently debated cases, such as those of Irenaeus of Lyons and John Paul II.

Copyright of Annals of Theology / Roczniki Teologiczne is the property of Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawla II and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article responds to Emmanuel Levinas and his critique of reason in the Western philosophical tradition, contrasting it with a continuity of approach taken by recent Bishops of Rome, including Francis, Benedict XVI, and John Paul II. Levinas provides an important corrective to aspects of the way reason has been deployed, especially with regard to violence and war. It will be argued that Levinas helps refine and humble theological reflection, but his argument is not altogether applicable to theology. A Catholic tradition of theology relies on philosophy in terms of 'naming names,' an activity responsive to Levinas's critique, and counters it in terms of moral goodness. Responding to Levinas helps to confidently articulate theology as an intelligent participation and performance of the good in a thoroughgoing reasonableness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to life has a unique and outstanding importance in the International Human Rights Law. However, at the same time, this right suffers from new threats and contradictions. In this paper, I will address these paradoxes, concerning the moment, in which the legal protection of the human being begins; the tendency to accommodate the beginning of life to biotechnological interests; the manipulation of language, as well as the relativization of the right to life and the pretensions of justifying abortion and euthanasia as a requirement of the right to life. I will offer an assessment of these paradoxes in the light of the Magisterium of John Paul II, and I will end with four signs of hope and commitment at the beginning of the 21st century in relation to the protection of the right to life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Paul II formulated the prohibition of killing an innocent person in terms of natural Human Rights. He advocated in favour of the right to life of unborn children, through diplomacy and action at the United Nations. The Polish Pope opposed both the claims and the methods of the pro-abortion lobby. This article examines news of this worldwide battle, analysing both Human Rights Law and the power relations surrounding abortion. Nearly thirty years after the Cairo Conference (1994), unborn children have not been excluded from the protection of the right to life and an international obligation to legalize abortion has never been created. However, the assaults of the pro-abortion lobby are as strong as during the 1990s. The entryism of this lobby has even created dysfunctions in the international institutions themselves, thus affecting and losing their impartiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Henry Newman, Josemaría Escrivá, and Karol Wojtyła are three modern saints who insisted on the general or universal call to holiness in everyday life, which until recent centuries focused on religious vows, degrees of prayer or mystical experiences. All three taught that this call is rooted in the sacrament of baptism with its subsequent growth by means of prayer, sacramental life, and the exercise of the virtues. They conceived of Christian holiness in terms of the imitation of Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit. For them, each Christian participates in the threefold office of Christ, Priest, Prophet, and King. Their teaching on divine filiation, sanctification of work and secular realities is a notable contribution towards a theology of holiness which calls for further elaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis analyzes the presence and function of Sacred Scripture in the writings of John Paul II. The absence of previous monographic works on the question makes it necessary to construct a method based on articles from academic journals that do deal with the subject. The questions most widely treated in the theology of Scripture during John Paul II's pontificate are discussed and compared with the places where he dealt expressly with the subject: essentially, his discourses to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. The extensive use of Scripture in his lengthy Petrine magisterium is analyzed statistically and thematically. In the light of these data, John Paul II's exegesis of a particular text of Scripture in analyzed, and the echo that modern exegesis has in the papal documents is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern world, on the one hand, longs for authority figures, and on the other, often rejects them all. The present paper is a scientific reflection on the issue of authority in the context of the person and teachings of John Paul II and the family. Referring to scientific research, the text demonstrates the need for authority figures in society while also giving examples of how these role models are rejected. Over the years, there has also been a visible decline in the percentage of people declaring that John Paul II or the family are their supreme authority. The media and the increase in the number of 'hip' celebrities and influencers play an important role in this process. It is often they who take the place of traditional authority figures and values in the public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kultura Slowian is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Kultura Slowian is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Teologia w Polsce is the property of Society of Dogmatic Theologians and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Teologia w Polsce is the property of Society of Dogmatic Theologians and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Koszalinsko-Kolobrzeskie is the property of University of Szczecin Press / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecinskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article discusses a little-known episode of collaboration between Ukrainian intellectuals at Harvard and Pope John Paul II Universities. Based on Polish, Ukrainian and American archival collections, the author shows the degree of entanglement between purely scholarly celebrations of the Millennium of Christianity in Rus’-Ukraine and the new realities of the Vatican’s Eastern Policy under the Polish Pope. The preparations of the conference in Ravenna in 1988, organized by Ukrainian scholars together with Polish and Italian, are contextualized within the evolving geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and the growing cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian intellectual elites.

The human being is in the center of John Paul II’s vision of work. There is no work without the human being. The personalistic attitude to work is in line with the ethics of work, because labor or capital must contribute to the good of humanity. The ethics of work highlights the value attached to the worker. The theology of work cannot exist without recognizing the subjective dimension of work. The ethics of work is centered on man because of his and his fellow men’s good, and thus saves the worker from being disconnected from work. Work that is devoid of moral sense becomes pointless, as it loses its social meaning and becomes a source of socioeconomic problems.