Sytematic Theology

The challenge of fundamental ecclesiology for the present-day is to move on from
the words, expressed during the Second Vatican Council concerning the self‑presentation
of the Church, towards the structural transformation of Christian communities and also of the communities of local churches. The aim of the article is to find appropriate impulses and the logic of ecclesial transformation within the framework of an interdisciplinary reflection which occurs between theology and social sciences, herein represented predominantly by relevant concepts derived from the theories of social organization and the so‑called theory of complexity. The starting point of this article is found in the thinking of Etienne Wenger, an author of social organizational theory. His thoughts, presented through the framework of communities of practice, offers a heuristically fruitful project for the structuration of ecclesial communities based on "The People of God" category, a theological category rediscovered by the Second Vatican Council.

In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium published in 2013, Pope Francis encourages all Christian communities toward missionary transformation. The transformation should lead to a genuine awareness and restoration of the missionary nature of the contemporary Church. The papal document has been quoted and commented on a number of times since its publication, as it bears enormous potential for transformation of the Catholic Church and for the mission of all Christians. The article presents an analysis of the four principles proposed by Evangelii gaudium in a section that focuses on the common good and social peace of humankind. The article acknowledges these principles as the axes of hypothesis that deals with reform of the Catholic Church as much as they contain important implications for a Christian theology of Revelation, for a theology of the act of faith and for a basic reflection on the structure of ecclesiastical communities. These elements are accepted as both an intrinsic condition and practical contribution for the Church's missionary transformation.

The book Church as a Community of Practice seeks to present a contribution to a contemporary ecclesiological research that will not be profiled as an abstract theologia aeterna, but will enter into a dialogue with the historicity of today`s man and Christian. It is necessary, thus, as the renewed ecclesiology built on the Second Vatican council`s documents unmistakably suggests, to enter into a dialogue with those fields of human knowledge that provide us relevant information about today's human being. To this challenge, the book Church as Community of Practice is the first comprehensive ecclesiological interpretation of the work of an American organization`s theorist, Etienne Wenger, whose thinking offers a strong potential for a further reflection about how to effectively build and develop ecclesial communities as places of an authentic human existence.

Il volume accoglie la sfida posta al Cristianesimo dal nostro tempo, quella del “cambiamento d’epoca”, che ci spinge a lavorare su un’adeguata forma ecclesiae. Viene dimostrato quanto pregnante sia, per uno sviluppo delle dinamiche intra- ed extra-ecclesiali, un approccio transdisciplinare allo studio e alla progettazione della realtà ecclesiale, qui illuminata innanzitutto attraverso una feconda euristica dell’opera di Etienne Wenger, un teorico statunitense di organizzazioni sociali.

„The House of God“, the Church (comp. 1 Tm 3,15), is a building shaped as an continual work in progress if we affirm the statement according to which Ecclesia semper reformanda. A new blow of thought about the Church, rooted in the event of the Vatican Council II (1962-1965), found in the work of the German theologian Johann Baptist Metz one of the very prolific authors. He worked on the outline of the mission of Christianity in our world within his project of a `new political theology`. What kind of result has this project brought till now? How fruitful had Metz`s work been for further rethinking of the shape of Christianity? Which language therefore should we use today to legitimize the phenomenon of the Church in our postmodern, multicultural and polycentric society? These questions are discussed and answered in this book developing an image of a dynamic Church with an open future. The volume also offers the first complex presentation of the ecclesiological work of J. B. Metz`s for the Czech theological audience.

The goal of this article is to contribute to current theological reflections on the category in which the Second Vatican Council describes the historical development of the Church: the Living Tradition. In dialogue with the social sciences we attempt to explore this Church existence in its openness as unsaturation of its present form. The interest in perceiving the Church as an open system and as an emerging structure is supported by both the theological view and the social sciences view. The social sciences point out the need for coherent cooperation between the human factor and the products of reification, which form the tradition of every intersubjective community of people united by common interest. This openness of the Church, of its life and of the theological reflection outlines a new direction in thinking about the Church’s service to humanity in its role as the sacrament of salvation for the entire world.

In this article I discuss the contribution to Christian thought by one of the most original Catholic theologians of the second half of the 20th century, the late Johann Baptist Metz (died 2019). I am seeking to highlight four main axes that are widely present in Metz`s thought. My aim is also to show how these axes are still present in modern Christian theology. To achieve these objectives, I briefly discuss a) Metz`s christology as it bears on b) his debate of human historicity. I further discuss c) Metz`s call for a ‘radicality’ of Christianity. All these dimensions of his thought are relevant for a heuristic d) rethinking of the issue of hope and its challenges for future Christian mission in and for the world.

There was a significant move in the philosophy of science over the 20th century. Whereas its beginning is shaped by positivism and by a reductionist approach in science, we face-as consequence of new facts and methods-a completely new paradigm shaped by consciousness of the necessity of a non-reductive approach to reality at the end of the 20th century. The new paradigm in the philosophy of science is called epistemology of complexity. It is inspired by studies of so called `complex systems` found both in the nature and in the human culture. In this article I try to undertake an interpretation of the epistemology of complexity on the field of the Catholic ecclesiology. As will be apparent, for our future understanding of the Church we must assume a non-reductive form of thinking about Church`s historical and social reality. Conclusion: As the author argues in the article, ecclesiological studies can benefit from the epistemology of complexity as from a highly efficient analytical and heuristic tool. Accepting this methodological invitation, we will be invited to a deeper understanding of the Church as the `communion of churches`, of the Church synodality and the horizontal balancing of accountability , of the missionary nature of the Church and of other relevant issues that cannot be passed by in the rethinking of the Church.

The challenge of fundamental ecclesiology for the present-day is to move on from the words, expressed during the Second Vatican Council concerning the self presentation of the Church, towards the structural transformation of Christian communities and also of the communities of local churches. The aim of the article is to find appropriate impulses and the logic of ecclesial transformation within the framework of an interdisciplinary reflection which occurs between theology and social sciences, herein represented predominantly by relevant concepts derived from the theories of social organization and the so called theory of complexity. The starting point of this article is found in the thinking of Etienne Wenger, an author of social organizational theory. His thoughts, presented through the framework of communities of practice, offers a heuristically fruitful project for the structuration of eccle¬sial communities based on "The People of God" category, a theological category rediscov¬ered by the Second Vatican Council.

This paper focuses on a new method of fundamental ecclesiology. A call for a renewed method in this field has found its roots not only in the event of the Second Vatican Council but also in the ecumenical movement, in the historical consciousness and in a new shape of presenting the Church as a "faith space". Therefore, in the paper, I will first attempt to demonstrate the limits of a "controversial theology" and its method of defending the Catholic Church. Then I discuss how progress in the field of the philosophy of knowledge undermined a rethinking of method in ecclesiology. Finally, I propose certain
principles for a renewed method of fundamental ecclesiology. These principles lead us to an important question about "forma ecclesiae", i.e. the relevance of studying crucial Church structures in their historical development. Such an approach will help us discover clear foundations on which a systematic ecclesiology could and should be built.

This article aims to deepen the interdisciplinary reflection on both the act of faith and the Christian identity. The starting point is the contribution of the Italian theologian Pierangelo Sequeri (b. 1944), who theologically analyzes the deepest human interior called by him 'the believing consciousness'. After presenting briefly his theory I will argue that the solution to this question needs to be broadened. The call to this task comes to us from the field of cognitive neurosciences. Its findings lead us to overcome a still present hidden dualism in understanding a human being. I am here seeking to analyze the theory called embodied cognition understood as an enlarged description of human consciousness. Finally, this approach makes it possible to obtain a more realistic description of the concept of human habitus and its complexity.

In this article, I discuss new horizons opened in front of theological work by pope Francis`s Apostolic constitution Veritatis Gaudium. I, therefore, sketch a brief history of theological education in the last 2 centuries dealing with its shape and audience. I discuss, in the end, the impact of the Veritatis Gaudium on what is the mission of Christian theology among the People of God and how Christians can/should be involved in developing the practice of Christian theology.

The article takes its starting point in the appeal quoted in the Apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium where is claimed that God`s “grace supposes culture” (EG 115). Therefore, the article examines two epistemological tools that might help us to analyse the phenomenon “culture” and that shed light on viable “access points”; i.e., of how Christianity can approach the current cultures in their intrinsic plurality. First, I analyse the thought of an American consultant of social organizations, Edgar Schein, who accurately describes the single layers of each culture. This leads him to emphasize the attention to the basic underlying assumptions of each culture where a constitutive social imagination of each human individual and group resides. In the second part, I offer a brief analysis of Michel de Certeau`s thought that is pertinent for us to grasp the methodology of cultural studies` discipline. This approach opens up new insights on how we can and should still argue Christianity to be an active producer of new cultural forms, despite the prevailing radical plurality and a seeming relativization of any objective assumption of the culture.

This article addresses one specific aspect of the synodal vision of the Church which is currently discussed in the Catholic Church. This aspect consists of the vision of a Church that is still a Church learning who to be and how to be. Using the construct of a community of practice, adopted from the field of the sociology of learning (Etienne Wenger), I analyse how the synodal Church, preferring the theology of the local Church, is open to new learning. As I demonstrate in the article, such an understanding contains within it a rich heuristic for our understanding of Revelation of God, including implications for an understanding of continuing revelation, as well as a revision of the Church's concept of the Magisterium (sg.) in favour of the Magisteria (pl.). The article, therefore, shows a surprising point of view: How basic ecclesiological themes help us illuminate the Christian understanding of divine Revelation as an ongoing Revelation in human history.