Teo-logia: La Parola di Dio nelle parole dell’uomo by Piero Coda, and: Il Logos e il nulla: Trinità, religioni, mistica by Piero Coda (review)

472 BOOK REVIEWS Although the final chapter is nominally addressed to John Duns Scotus (d. 1308), more than half of it discusses the theories of his Franciscan successors Jacob ofAscoli and William of Alnwick, both of whom taught at Paris in the first decade of the fourteenth century. This is because in his surviving writings and especially in those directed against Henry of Ghent Scotus is more interested in the epistemological aspects ofintelligible or intentional being than its ontological status. Despite the fact that he was the first to draw a dear metaphysical distinction between the material and immaterial orders, he does not give a precise explanation of the relation between intentional being (esse intentionale) in the intellect and the material, extramental thing that is its object (108-9). Ascoli and Alnwick were both interested in ontological matters in their theories ofintellectual cognition, however, with AscoH introducing a distinction between intelligible species having real existence and intelligible things having merely intentional existence, and Alnwick taking a more parsimonious line by emphasizing the representative function of intelligible species as distinct from their mode of existence in the intellect (120-38). Perler does a nice job of showing how both authors are part of the Scotist:ic tradition, and of laying out the attractions and drawbacks of their theories for the reader. This book is a fine introduction to the problem of intentionality in the later Middle Ages; those who consult it will learn much from its pages. NonFrancophone readers may be assured that the fluently multilingual Perler writes French as William of Ockham writes Latin: with prose that is dean, simple, and direct-not at all weighed down by Gallicisms and other continental literary flourishes that might get in the way of presenting the argument (a nice example here is his reduction of Olivi's argument against the intellect's passively receiving intelligible species into six dear steps [55-56]). ThinkAnthony Kenny translated into French. Emory University Atlanta, Georgia }ACKZUPKO Teo-logia: La Parola di Dio nelle parole dell'uomo. By PIBRO CODA. 2d ed. Rome: Lateran University Press, 2004. Pp. 466. 26,00€ (doth). ISBN 88465 -0493-3. Il Logos e il nulla: Trinita, religioni, mistica. By PIERO CODA. Rome: Citta Nuova, 2003. Pp. 552. 34,50€ (paper). ISBN 88-311-3346-2. On visits to Rome, I have been increasingly impressed by the vitality of the Italian ecdesial and theological scene. Ecdesial movements, such as Sant'Egidio, Focolare, and Comunione e Liberazione, seem to be flourishing. Bookstores, on the Via della Conciliazione and elsewhere, burgeon with new theological works, BOOK REVIEWS 473 both by Italian authors and in translation. To the happy surprise of some of us who studied in Rome during the Second Vatican Council, the Pontifical Lateran University has emerged as a theological center, characterized not only by fidelity to the Church's magisterium, but by genuine creativity in exploring issues both traditional and new. The Lateran has benefited from the leadership of two world-renowned theologians: the former Rector, Angelo Scola, now Cardinal Patriarch ofVenice, and the present Rector, Bishop Rino Fisichella. In addition, there are a number of others who are elaborating an approach to theology that is open to the challenges ofthe new millennium, even as it is firmly rooted in the tradition and most especially in the uniqueness of Christ's paschal mystery. A leading and distinctive voice here is that of Fr. Piero Coda, two of whose works form the basis of this review. Born in 1955, Piero Coda earned two doctorates, one in philosophy and the other in theology. His specialties include Trinitarian theology and the Christian theology of religions and he has written extensively in both areas. He has also published studies on Hegel and Bulgakov. Coda also serves as President of the Italian Theological Association and is a consultor for the Pontifical Council for lnterreligious Dialogue. Significantly, he has, for a number of years, been the personal theologian of Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare movement. Coda's Teo-logia is the revised and updated version of the introductory course offered to students beginning their theological education at the Lateran. In the second part of the book, devoted...