The Theology of Catholic Action by Theodore M. Hesburgh, and: De Fundamentis Actionis Catholicae ad mentem Sancti Gregorii Magni by James Voss (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 525 It is apparent that these and the few other critical remarks which could be added are traceable to Scotus himself or the actual condition of his works rather than to the interpreter. Xk Wolter is perfectly aware of the weakness of certain points and the tentative character of some of his interpretations (p. xi) . They do not detract from the merits of the work. Truly the Subtle Doctor has met in Dr. Wolter a subtle interpreter. We heartily recommend this book to every true metaphysician. The Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. FELIX ALLUNTIS, 0. F. M. The Theology of Catholic Action. By THEODORE M. HEsBURGH. Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Marie Press, 1946. Pp. ~09. $~.50. De Fundamentis Actionis Catholicae ad mentem Sancti Gregorii Magni. By JAMES Voss. Mundelein, Ill.: Our Lady of the Lake Seminary Press. 1943. Pp. 119. These are two dissertations which aim to establish the dogmatic basis of the lay apostolate. Father Voss, following the teaching of St. Gregory the Great, propounds the twofold thesis that 1) the ultimate theological basis of the lay apostolate is the nature of the Church considered as the Mystical Body, and ~) the proximate basis of the lay apostolate is lay participation in each of the threefold offices of Christ, that of prophet, king, and priest. After synthesizing Gregory's teaching on the Mystical Body, Father Voss treats each of the three powers of Christ; he shows that each is continued in the ecclesiastical hierarchy and that the layman participates in each of them. The book is a historical rather than theological study. It merely .arranges Gregory's teaching without much attempt at analyzing it. The chief value of the book is that it establishes that the layman ~oes share in all three offices of Christ, thus it thwarts the attempts of those who would " keep the laity in their place " by crediting them merely with a share in the power to teach and thereby limiting their activity as lay apostles to one of catechetics or other kinds of religious instructions. Gregory the Great harl a keen realization of the dignity and duties of the Christian layman. He expressed his convictions on this point with his characteristic simplicity and force. His message has a meaning today, when the need for lay apostles is so evident and there is an attempt to recapture the total view of the Church, of which the laity is an integral part. As Pere Congar, 0. P., has dryly observed, our ecclesiology should 526 BOOK ruwiEWS rather be called hierarchology since it is concerned chiefly with the hierarchy : the primacy of the Pope, the monarchical organization of the Church, etc. It usually omits the other two essential elements of the Church-the Holy Spirit, who is its soul, and the laity, who make up most of its body. It is a pity that this little book by Father Voss is written in Latin. It is a simple and non-technical mosaic of Gregory's doctrine and would have made excellent reading for apostolic laymen who are trying to fulfill their Christian responsibilities. Father Hesburgh's study first appeared as a doctoral dissertation of the School of Theology, Catholic University, under the title: "The Relation of the Sacramental Characters of Baptism and Confirmation to the Lay Apostolate." It aims " to determine the place and function of the layman in the Church, by a theological consideration of the basic structural sacraments of baptism and confirmation." To give a frame of reference· for his theological treatment, Father Hesburgh devotes the first part of his study to the lay apostolate in recent papal documents, showing that it has come into prominence as the papal solution to secularism and that the Popes have sketched its nature and theological foundations. In part two, he treats the redemptive priesthood of Christ, the term of participation through the sacramental character; he emphasizes the mediatorial aspects of the Incarnation and Redemption, which is synthesized in the Church's teaching on the grace of headship, the point of contact between Christ's objective work of mediation and man's participation in it. In part three, the core of the study, Father Hesburgh gives...