VCII: Bradford Hinze

This fall, in honor of the 60th anniversary of the convening of Vatican II, St. Ignatius Parish will host a six-part series looking at the teaching of the Council and the continuing effect (and controversy) it has sparked in the Catholic community. 

In this session, which takes place from 6:30-8:00pm in-person at St. Ignatius Church, followed by a reception, and via livestream, Bradford Hinze, holder of the Karl Rahner Chair in Theology at Fordham University, will discuss Lumen Gentium, i.e., The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church.

This presentation will be followed by time for dialogue and questions. Registration is not required, though we ask that you RSVP below so that we can prepare the event accordingly.

RSVP

Bradford E. Hinze, Ph.D. is the Karl Rahner Chair in Theology at Fordham University in New York. He is a former president of the College Theology Society and the Catholic Theological Society of America.

 

How We Encounter Ourselves as the People of God

The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium) speaks of the structure of the Church as an institution, and the various roles and ministries that emerge from that structure. It is revolutionary because it proclaims a Church that begins not with the hierarchy but with the People of God.

    •    What do we mean when we talk about “the Church”—i.e. is it the Pope and his counselors, the bishops, the priests and religious? How do we encounter the Church as People of God?
    •    The synod asked me to reflect on the Church and my experience, but how do I fit in the Church I experience—especially as a woman, or a gay person, or a person of color, or a divorced and remarried Catholic?
    •    When this document talks about “the priesthood of the faithful,” what does that mean for my encounter with the Church?