Pope Paul VI characterized the Second Vatican Councils Declaration on Religious Freedom --Dignitatis Humanae -- as one of the greatest documents of Vatican II. It is also perhaps the most intensely debated document of the Council; both the drafting of the Declaration of Religious Freedom and its reception have been marked by deep disagreements about what this teaching means for the Church.

In this book David Schindler and Nicholas Healy promote a deeper understanding of this important document. In addition to presenting a new translation of the approved text of the Declaration,Freedom, Truth, and Human Dignity makes available for the first time in English the five drafts of the document that were presented to the Council bishops leading up to the final version. The book also includes an original interpretive essay onDignitatis Humanae by Schindler and an essay on the genesis and redaction history of the text by Healy.

Timely theological insights on culture and humanity from the pen of the Pontiff

In this second volume of Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Pope Benedict XVI speaks to various issues relating to humanity today -- conscience, technological security, the origin of human life, the meaning of Sunday, Christian hope, and more.

As editor David L. Schindler notes, "Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology." This is the second of three volumes; the first deals with themes relating to the Church, and the third volume is to focus on theological renewal.

What does it mean to love someone? What does the concept of human dignity mean, and what are its consequences? What marks the end of a person's life? Is personhood more than consciousness? These perplexing questions lurk beneath the surface of everyday life, surfacing only to demand urgent attention in crises.

Renowned German philosopher Robert Spaemann addresses these and other foundational enigmas in three eloquent short essays. Speaking wisdom to controversy, he offers carefully considered, novel approaches to key philosophical and theological questions about the nature of human love ("The Paradoxes of Love"), dignity ("Human Dignity and Human Nature"), and death ("Is Brain Death the Death of a Human Person?").

Metaphysical study of God, love, technology, and culture in modern societyReality most basically and properly considered, says David L. Schindler, is an order of love a gift that finds its objective only in an entire way of life. Love is what first brings things into existence, and everything exists in, through, and for love. With this understanding of reality, Schindler explores how modern culture marginalizes love, regarding it at best as a matter of piety or goodwill rather than as the very stuff that makes our lives and the things of the world real.Schindler examines how Western civilizations fixation with technology especially its displacement of experience with experiment and its privileging of knowing and making has undermined its capacity to build an authentic human culture. Schindler sees this as a technological age not simply because of technological advancements but because of the way we think as the result of our technological orientation. He shows, within the context of politics, economics, science, and cultural and professional life generally, that God-centered love is what gives things their deepest and most proper order and meaning.

I saggi che David Schindler ha raccolto in questo libro rappresentano una sintesi della sua riflessione antropologica. L'autore si interroga sulla profonda crisi dell'Occidente contemporaneo, evidente in ogni ambito della vita sociale (economico, politico, religioso e culturale), e ne individua la causa principale nel prevalere di un interesse personale egoistico che strumentalizza il prossimo in nome della libertà del singolo, ignorando l'intima chiamata dell'uomo alla comunione e al dono. In tale contesto anche la tecnologia - che secondo il filosofo canadese George Grant è divenuta l'ontologia della nostra epoca - gioca un ruolo determinante poiché ha modificato la nostra concezione di ciò che è bene, favorendo un'idea dell'essere umano priva di profondità e di trascendenza. Contro questa deriva delle società occidentali, che allontana dalla logica dell'amore propria dell'essere creato, Schindler ricorda l'insegnamento di Benedetto XVI e Giovanni Paolo II, i quali propongono il ritorno a un diverso modo di pensare basato sui principi della gratuità e della relazionalità. Lo scontro qui illustrato è in essenza quello tra la cultura della vita e la cultura della morte, che, proponendoci di vivere come se Dio non esistesse, "finisce facilmente per negare o compromettere anche la dignità della persona umana e l'inviolabilità della sua vita" (Evangelium vitae, n. 96).

Dwelling in Love brings together a captivating collection of articles ? previously published in Communio ? by Pope Benedict XVI. The essays deal with various issues facing the church in the world today, including what divides and unites denominations, the growing crisis facing peace and justice, technological security, and the necessity of ecumenism in the growth of the church. / ?Pope Benedict XVI rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa,? notes David Schindler in the introduction. This collection is a brilliant expression of that tendency toward interconnectivity. / Dwelling in Love is part of the Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought series, edited by David L. Schindler.

In this volume David L. Schindler presents readers with a collection of essays garnered from the 2005 conference marking the centenary of Hans Urs von Balthasar‘s birth. That conference hosted an international gathering of scholars, among them students, colleagues, and friends of Balthasar, all making an effort to engage the fundamental questions of faith and reason in light of his influential contribution to Catholic theology.

A wide range of topics is explored in light of the Christian mystery, including metaphysics and causality, the nature of rationality, the relationship between God and the world, and the meaning of the body. Featuring an impressive list of contributors, Love Alone Is Credible is a tribute to the profound relevance of Balthasar‘s thought.

Contributors:

Romanus Cessario
David S. Crawford
Stephen Fields
José Granados
Roberto Graziotto
Michael Hanby
Roch Kereszty
V. Bradley Lewis
Antonio López
Margaret H. McCarthy
Simon Oliver
Stefan Oster
William L. Portier