Affected by the Great Depression and the inadequacy of the “simple-minded moralism” of church commentators on economic matters, Bernard Lonergan worked on a macrodynamic economic model in the 1940s and returned to it in the 1970s. The authors here situate Lonergan's economics in relation to economic theory then and now, as well as within his own overall project. They consider its possible contribution to the development of Catholic social teaching on economics, especially in dialogue with Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in veritate. Finally, they discuss the light Lonergan sheds on the importance and difficulties of interdisciplinary work.
Working within a largely Roman Catholic framework this paper explores the possible meanings of the notion of divine institution of the three-fold order of ministry. By locating that meaning within the realm of practical intelligence, viewing institutions as efficient and effective means for meeting recurrent needs, it argues for a position on divine institution which both recognises some normativity in relation to the three-fold structure of bishop—priest—deacon and allows some flexibility in relation to that structure, a flexibility evident within the Roman Catholic tradition itself. It is hoped that this approach creates an ecumenical space for consideration of the validity of other forms of church order.
[Ecclesiologists have long acknowledged a possible role for the social sciences in their discipline. The author examines the difficulties theologians face in utilizing the social sciences, given the diversity of approaches in that area, and the more profound issue that the social sciences can never be theologically neutral. It concludes that the only way of soundly utilizing the social sciences is to reorient theologically the social sciences and to include them “from the ground up” within a comprehensive theology of history. This is then the natural home for a historically conscious ecclesiology.]
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