cormacburke.me.ke

CONTENTS

1. The Lawless People of God?

2. Lawlessness and Society
Pro-rights, anti-law?
Self-interest or common good?
The strength of the law
Bowing before authority?
Enforcement of law

3. Individualism and the Church
Clerical service and people's rights
Whose rights are more threatened?
Is the Church a democracy?
Is the Church a free society?
Vindicating one's rights
The post-conciliar Code - a key to renewal
The People of God need a common law

4. Freedom
Ruling one's self
Breaking the law of the will and the mind
Freedom is for choosing
Freedom, law, and restraint
Stopping people from going wrong?
Obeying freely
The immaturity of obedience?

5. Conscience
"Conscience leaves a man free"...?
Rules about conscience
Levels of conscientious difficulty
Is conscience infallible?

6. Dissent
The right to dissent
The identity of a Catholic
The consequences of dissent
Conscience v. conscience

7. Dissent and the Rights of the Faithful
Professional knowledge
"Ask the priests".
Taking decisions for others?
A compassionate ministry
The priest's professional competence
Proud and intolerant?
Wanting to be certain

8. Law as a Gift
The Law of Nature
The Law of Moses
The Law of Christ
The privileges of Christians
The Law of the Cross
Joy and evangelization

9. Law and the Holy Spirit
Marching orders
A "second" magisterium?
Charisms
An interior law?
The grace of obedience
Creativity
Dynamism?; dialogue?

10. The Church: Juridical or Charismatic?
The theological difficulty
The historical difficulty
The early Church
The principle of the Incarnation
Making the Church holier?
Judging humanly
Was Jesus anti-law?

11. Authority, Power, Service
The power-pyramid
Moral - not political and sacred
Politicizing power
The service-pyramid
Community
Resistance to authority

12. Roles in the Church; Roles in the World
The proper role of the laity
The priestly, prophetic and kingly office of the laity
Ruling the world
Competence and doctrine
Who is going to be the boss?
"Lay leaders"
"Representative" Catholics

13. Authority and Evangelization
Signs of the times
A bad moment?
Certainty
Unity
Joy
Standard of Life

14. Authority and Truth
The logic of God's presence
Integrity and authenticity
Development of doctrine
The theologian's role
"Theologians versus Magisterium"?
Truth and the People
Authority, Truth and Scripture

15. Truth and Definition
Slide-shows
Feeling 'free" about the picture?
Close-up viewing
Pluralism
How far does infallibility go?

16. Truth and Communion
Thinking with Christ
Theology calls for communion
New York and theology
Communion and power
Restoration of communion
Clarity in dialogue
Private judgment and communio
Ecclesiology - the crisis area

17. Communion, Unity, Diversity
Unity, diversity, Trinity
Unity, diversity, sanctity
The law of variety and unity
Particular churches
Inculturation through seeking Christ
Unity needs to be loved more
A charism at the service of both unity and variety
Love for the Church

Appendix I. Legal Positivism
Positivism; subjectivism

Appendix II. Natural Law
Different in personality; like in nature
The Ten Commandments
Human rights mean natural rights
Laws of Life
Two worlds
Binding, universal, unchanging
An evolving nature?
Static? Dynamic?

Appendix III Abuse of Authority
Legitimation of moral authority
Abuse within the Church
Authority and popularity
Who seeks what?