International Theological Commission Texts and Documents

Used, like new.May be purchased separately.

Two-volume collection of texts and documents issued by the International Theological Commission (ITC), a body of theologians that advises the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The texts and documents of the ITC address pressing theological issues, drawing upon theological experts from around the world who represent differing branches of theology yet share a common commitment to authentically Catholic theological reflection.

Volume 1, 1969-1985, includes texts and documents exploring the following themes: reflections on the objectives and methods of the ITC, priestly ministry, theological pluralism, apostolic succession, Christian ethics, the relationship of theology to the Magisterium, human development and human salvation, Christian marriage, Christology, penance and reconciliation, the dignity and rights of the human person, ecclesiology, and the consciousness of Christ.

Volume 2, 1986-2007, includes texts and documents exploring the following themes: faith and inculturation, the interpretation of dogma, eschatology, God the Redeemer, Christianity and world religions, the Church and the faults of the past, the diaconal ministry, human beings as the image of God, and the hope for the salvation of unbaptized infants.

"The special contribution of the Commission is to gain a hearing for the common voice of theology amid all the diversities that exist. Notwithstanding the legitimate pluralism of theological cultures within the Church, the unity of theology must remain, empowering theologians to offer a common account of their subject. In these pages, therefore, one will not find the exciting theses of innovative individuals. If there is excitement here, it lies in the discovery that even in our contemporary situation it is possible to say something together despite all our differences and take part together in a further exploration of the one faith of the Church. All the texts that follow are the fruit of a long and often difficult dialogue. In that dialogue, various disciplines, methods, and ways of thought found a common path. Over and above that, the wider dialogue of theologians with the bishops, as well as between bishops and the Petrine office in the Church, has found a voice. It is precisely for this reason that the Theological Commission represents an authentic continuation of the great experience of the Council and a clarification of its true bearing."
�Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger from the Preface to Volume One.