A Church of Passion and Hope : The Formation of an Ecclesial Disposition from Ignatius Loyola to Pope Francis and the New Evangelization

Jesuits have contributed to the life and theological development of the Church for many generations - culminating in Pope Francis, the first Jesuit Pope. Ignatius Loyola called his men and all those inspired by the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises to a certain ecclesial disposition a way of thinking, judging and feeling with the Church. Gill Goulding discusses the key texts from St Ignatius' life and work to identify the Ignatian ecclesial disposition that is centered on Christ. It is fuelled by a Trinitarian horizon, and with a clear emphasis on the dignity of every human person. Golding introduces and examines key historical figures such as St Pierre Favre and Mary Ward; as well as two of the major 20th century theologians - Henri de Lubac and Avery Dulles. Finally, Goulding highlights the Ignatian ecclesial disposition in the highest authority of the contemporary Roman Catholic Church, in the background to the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, focusing on the centrality of Christ and the work of the New Evangelization. This book raises the key questions of the relationship between Christ and the Church as the body of Christ. It indicates the importance of maintaining a Trinitarian horizon in theological vision and raises the pertinent if difficult question of the meaning of Christian obedience. Goulding also underlines the importance of the integration of spirituality and theology which has ramifications for all Christian denominations and possibilities for ongoing inter-faith dialogue. FC Half title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Rules for Thinking, Judging, and Feeling with the Church Part I The Ignatian Context 1 Rules that Free or Oppress? 2 The Texts Surrounding the Text 3 Ignatius’ Ecclesial Disposition Part II Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Exemplars 4 Saint Pierre Favre, S.J. 5 Mary Ward Part III Twentieth Century Jesuit Theologians 6 Cardinal Henri de Lubac, S.J. 7 Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. Part IV The Ignatian Ecclesial Disposition and the Contemporary Papacy 8 The Contextual Background to the Contemporary Papacy 9 The Centrality of Christ 10 The Ecclesial Disposition and the New Evangelization Conclusion Selected Bibliography Index Rules for thinking, judging and feeling with the church -- The ignatian context: -- Rules that free or oppress -- Texts surrounding the text -- The Ignatian ecclesial disposition -- Sixteenth and seventeenth-century exemplars -- Saint Pierre Favre S.J -- Venerable Mary Ward -- Twentieth century Jesuit theologians -- Cardinal Henri de Lubac -- Cardinal Avery Dulles -- Ignatian ecclesial disposition and the contemporary papacy -- The contextual background of three popes -- The centrality of Christ -- The ecclesial disposition and the new evangelization