Richard R. Gaillardetz

Deeply spiritual and personal reflections from distinguished theologian Richard R. Gaillardetz. Diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, theologian Dr. Richard R. Gaillardetz started sharing his thoughts and reflections on CaringBridge and signed off each entry with the Latin phrase "dum spiro, spero" ("While I breathe, I hope"). In his chronologically compiled essays, Rick moves through his final season of life seeking insight from his Christian faith, while discovering new meaning in the signs and symbols that mark familiar liturgical seasons and celebrations. He explores fears and doubts, joys and sufferings, and the graces and blessings he encounters along his final journey. With shots of humor, a few sports analogies, and a sprinkling of quotes from Karl Rahner, Rick offers wisdom for all in his poignant exploration of what it means to be a person of faith, entering the paschal mystery, ever hopeful for the life to come.

Pope Francis and Campus Ministry sets up a dialogue between Pope Francis and the history of Catholic campus ministry over the last three decades since the publication of the bishops' pastoral letter Empowered by the Spirit. It includes articles that the author has written on campus ministry during that period, preceded by a brief explanation of the context of the article and followed by specific ways Pope Francis would guide campus ministry into the future. †

Few topics are as important, or as controversial, as the proper role and exercise of authority in the Roman Catholic Church. Inspired by Pope Francis's bold rereading and determined implementation of the teaching of Vatican II, Richard Gaillardetz has completely revised and expanded his book By What Authority? It offers a helpful introduction to the nature and forms of church authority and their relationship to authentic Christian belief and discipleship. Gaillardetz offers theologically clear and pastorally insightful considerations of:the character of divine revelation, the authority of Scripture and traditionthe role of the pope and bishops in preserving the Christian faiththe levels of church teaching authority, the central faith witness of all the baptizedthe possibility of disagreements with church teaching, and the proper relationship between theologians, the magisterium, and the whole people of Godthe authority of the believing community and the controversial questions that arise when there are conflicting interpretations of church teaching.

The Second Vatican Council has become an indispensable reference point for understanding Roman Catholicism today. Yet in spite of its impact, Vatican II was in many ways an unfinished council. The council bishops were able to establish key pillars in the construction of a new vision for the church of our time, but, for various reasons, they were not able to draw those pillars together into a coherent unified structure. This volume describes both the council’s building project itself and the challenges facing the church today if we are to complete the project begun fifty years ago.

As the church marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, too few Catholics have an adequate grasp of what the council contributed to the life of the church. The problem is understandable. The Second Vatican Council produced, by far, more document pages than any other council. Consequently, any attempt to master its core teachings can be daunting. There is a danger of missing the forest for the trees. With this in mind, Keys to the Council identifies twenty key conciliar passages, central texts that help us appreciate the Vision of the council fathers.Each chapter places the given passage in its larger historical context, explores its fundamental meaning and significance, and finally considers its larger significance for the life of the church today. Chapters include exploration of Sacrosanctum Concilium's demand for full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgy; Lumen Gentium's eucharistic ecclesiology; Gaudium et Spes's vision of marriage as an intimate partnership of life and love; Nostra Aetate's approach to non-Christian religions; and more.

Christian marriage offers the daring proposition that, inspired by faith, two people might unconditionally bind themselves together for life without destroying each other in the process This revised and updated edition offers a set of honest and penetrating reflections on the challenges of living faithful Christian marriage today.

Despite the great changes that Vatican II brought to the Church, few people grasp the council's teachings, or are aware of the debates that have taken place in the past four decades regarding the council's authentic reception and implementation To respond to this pressing pastoral reality, distinguished theologian and professor Richard R. Gaillardetz focuses on three of the council's documents: 1) The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), 2) The Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church (Christus Dominus), and 3) The Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum). In clear and accessible terms, the author outlines the history of these documents, and presents their central themes. This is followed by comprehensive and balanced analysis of how these texts have been implemented in the church. He concludes with some of his own proposals for furthering the vision of the Second Vatican Council. †

What are the implications of Vatican II for the understanding and concrete exercise of doctrinal teaching authority in the Catholic Church?" Teaching with Authority faithfully represents the teaching of Roman Catholicism on the Church's doctrinal authority while highlighting areas where a gap remains between an ecclesiological Vision of the Church informed by Vatican II and the popular understanding and concrete exercise of that authority in the life of the Church today.Dr. Gaillardetz shows that Vatican II did not so much produce one new ecclesiology as it recovered a number of ecclesiologies from biblical and patristic sources. Using images like the people of God, body of Christ, temple of the Holy Spirit, and pilgrim Church, along with such concepts as mystery, communion, and sacrament, the council breathed new life into reflection on the nature and mission of the Church. Since Vatican II, much work has been done by ecclesiologists to explore the new directions suggested by the Council. This book contributes to that post-conciliar project by developing a comprehensive theology of doctrinal teaching authority consonant with the ecclesiological Vision of Vatican II.Theologians and graduate students of Roman Catholic ecclesiology will benefit from the scholarship behind Teaching with Authority. And, because of its comprehensive yet non-technical treatment of doctrinal authority in the Roman Catholic Church, it's also a useful reference for all in pastoral ministry - ordained and non-ordained.Teaching with Authority's structure reflects the traditional three-fold distinction among the subject of doctrinal teaching, the object of doctrinal teaching, and the exercise or act of doctrinal teaching. However, the developments of the Second Vatican Council remind us of the importance of a fourth category, the reception of Church teaching by the whole people of God, which this work addresses.Chapters in Part One are: "The Renewal of Ecclesiology at the Second Vatican Council," and "The Teaching Office of the Church." Chapters in Part Two are: "What the Church Teaches: In Service of the Word of God," and "What the Church Teaches: Gradations of Church Doctrine." Chapters in Part Three are: "How the Church Teaches: The Assistance of the Holy Spirit," "How the Church Teaches: The Ordinary Magisterium," and "How the Church Teaches: The Extraordinary Magisterium." Chapters in Part Four are: "Receiving and Responding to the Word: Corporate Reception of Church Teaching," and "Receiving and Responding to the Word: Personal Reception of Church Teaching."Each chapter includes a select bibliography of English language resources aimed at then on-specialist. Dr. Gaillardetz concludes with a brief reflection on the future of the Church's teaching ministry.Richard R. Gaillardetz, PhD, is assistant professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, Texas. He is also the author of Witnesses to the Faith: Community, Infallibility and the Ordinary Magisterium of Bishops and has written articles for Church, Louvain Studies, Horizons, Diakonia, Worship, Eglise et Theologie, and The Journal of Religious Ethics.