Church and Theology: Cardinal Ratzinger’s 1986 Lecture at St. Michael’s College, Toronto, on Church and Theology: Text, Context, and Insights

Introduction

Professor McSorley’s essay presents an original contribution to the understanding of the context and subsequent influence of Cardinal Ratzinger’s lecture “The Church as an Essential Dimension of Theology” and the in camera session with the faculty of the Toronto School of Theology. Drawing on a wealth of first-hand information, encounters with fellow theologians, personal reflections, and theological insights, he shows how this seminal lecture and session with the faculty fit within the often fluid, sometimes tense relationship that has existed over the past half-century between Vatican Council members and the college of bishops with the pope; between theologians—and bishops—with the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, as expressed in the 1990 document Donum veritatis (Instruction on the ecclesial vocation of the theologian), and in controversies over birth control and the ordination of women leading up to it and continuing beyond it.

As the Catholic Church commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, there is much to be done in collegiality, ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue. It is important for us in the twenty-first century to revisit the council documents and to gain insights into its ground-breaking achievements with the commentary, reflections, and thoughts of the theologians who were actively present in the debates surrounding the council and its aftermath.