The Catholic Church: Nature, Reality and Mission

by Walter Kasper

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Academic

, 2015

Walter Kasper is already well-known and loved throughout the English-speaking world. He has held high office in the Vatican but until his recent retirement has felt constrained from publishing what he really thinks and his vision of the Church for the future.
Kasper brings to conclusion a project that has been pursued for years, as it joins together his greatest monographs on the subject of God's teaching and Christology. The book covers three main topics: Nature, Reality and the Mission of the Church.
The introductory section is autobiographical and the reader can see Kasper's personal and theological way in to and with the Church. He develops the actual ecclesiological exegesis - for Kasper the representation of the Being of the Church is not about empirical description, but rather a testimony of being. He emphasizes that nobody is able to apply the stereotypical and idealistic image of the heavens to the critical acknowledgement of the church's present. The program of the Church is ultimately not self-directed but rather remains oriented towards the finalization of the arrival of the kingdom of God and the spiritual healing of the human race.

Features

Covers three main thematic circles: Nature, Reality and the mission of the Church
Offers Kasper's personal and theological way in and with the Church
Demonstrates how the Church can remain the one and the same Church of Jesus Christ

Contents

Introduction
1. My Way Into and My Way With the Church
2. Basics of Catholic Ecclesiology
3. Determining Factors in the Life of the Church
4. The Church's Essential Qualities
5. The Communion-shape of the Churches
6. A Missionary Church in Dialogue
Bibliography
Index

Praise for The Catholic Church

More than any other work currently available, Kasper's book covers the needs of courses in ecclesiology ... [It] provides the richest and most accessible ecclesiology available at present.

There are a number of reasons why Anglicans should read Walter Kasper's new book with close attention. He is a major figure in Catholic theology … and his work shows a keen awareness of ecumenical themes … His ecclesiology is very much one of 'communio' and although the Church of Christ 'subsists' in the Catholic Church Kasper is firm that Rome can learn from other Christian bodies.

As with other works of [Kasper], this volume is rich in historical details and presents a balanced, erudite exegesis of Vatican II's understanding of the church.

Product Details

• Title: The Catholic Church: Nature, Reality and Mission
• Author: Walter Kasper
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781441149084, 9781441187093, 144118709X, 1441149082
• Resource ID: LLS:9781441149084
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-11T00:48:38Z

About Walter Kasper

Walter Kasper is a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church and president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He was born in 1933 in Brenz, Germany. He was ordained in 1957, and was a professor at Tübingen University for 25 years. In 1989, he became bishop of one of Germany’s largest Catholic dioceses, Rottenburg-Stuttgart. While there, he visited every one of the 1,000 parishes in the diocese. He was elevated to cardinal in 2001, and cardinal-priest in 2011. He served as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity from 2001 to 2010.