Verbum Vitae, 2024, T. 42: Biblia Benedicti. Hermeneutical and Exegetical Legacy of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12153/8315

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    Regula Fidei in the Light of Joseph Ratzinger’s Writings
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Zatwardnicki, Sławomir
    The study of the theological significance of regula fidei was embedded in Ratzinger’s theology of the word of God through its connection with Christology, pneumatology and ecclesiology. The Bavarian theologian derived his reflections on the word of God from the historical structure of revelation and the genesis of Scripture in the Church. The article begins with a characterisation of the concept of Tradition, of which the rule of faith is a constituent element. The perspective adopted has made it possible to identify the main areas of the theology of the Word of God in which the rule of faith plays a role. Subsequently, the article addressed the relationship of revelation to the oral (regula fidei) and written (Scripture) canons, the connection between the Creed and the Church’s liturgy, the relation of the oral and written canons, and the relevance of the Magisterium of the Church to the rule of faith. The theological approach to the rule of faith has also served to deepen reflection on the theology of the word of God, including the primacy of Scripture in the “one living organism of the word of God.”
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    Catholics and Lutherans on Scripture. A Proposal by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Blanco-Sarto, Pablo
    Luther emphasized the centrality of the word of God while formulating the principle of sola Scriptura, which later evolved. The Council of Trent and Vatican II present Scripture and tradition as complementary elements that originate from the same source, seeking their compatibility with the historical- critical method and the findings of contemporary exegesis. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI’s “hermeneutics of faith” goes in the same direction but with a personal development, as can be noticed in Jesus of Nazareth, published between 2007 and 2013. The article’s main contribution is the comprehensive description of Ratzinger’s ideas about interpreting Scripture. Along with the succinct summary of Ratzinger’s biblical thought, the article also presents some critical comments on his ideas and works in confrontation with the Protestant doctrine about reading and interpreting the Bible.
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    Introduction to Joseph Ratzinger’s Opera Omnia
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Góźdź, Krzysztof
    Joseph Ratzinger’s famous work Introduction to Christianity (Ratzinger 1968a, 1968b) presented the essence and central teachings of the Christian religion. In the case of the “Introduction to Joseph Ratzinger’s Opera Omnia,” it is similarly a question of identifying the essence of the theology of this contemporary Church Father. Without a doubt, what constitutes this principle is the priority of God, not only as Creator but also as Redeemer and Saviour. From this arises the second main dimension of Ratzinger’s theology, namely man as a gift and a person, who is properly realized through originating from God (Urbild) whose most perfect image (Bild) is Jesus Christ, and whose reflection (Abbild) is man. Thus, man can ultimately be fulfilled only in God, in eternal life with him. And therefore, man’s origin, justification, and fulfillment is in God. He is God’s unfolding imago: naturae, gratiae et gloriae. God’s creation is saved and transformed by Christ’s redemption. This fulfillment of God’s plan for creation is expressed in the person of Mary. To better understand the central thought of Ratzinger’s theology, the author of the text proposes eleven key issues in a certain confrontation with the Italian theologian Bruno Forte and the Polish journalist Krzysztof Tomasik.
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    Normative and Performative: The Authority of Scripture for Catholic Theology and Worship in the Thought of Pope Benedict XVI
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Hahn, Scott
    This essay addresses Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini, which explained authoritatively the three central principles of Catholic scriptural interpretation found in the Vatican II constitution Dei Verbum. In Verbum Domini, much of Benedict’s prior work as a private theologian gained a magisterial voice. Hence, this essay will engage both with Verbum Domini and Benedict’s previous writings. For Benedict, theology is more than information. When practiced as a “spiritual science,” theology is a real contact with the living Word. The authors of scripture are, accordingly, “normative theologians.” The real contact with the living Word contained in scripture is most profoundly mediated by the Church’s liturgy. The biblical Word’s liturgical setting is the source of its theological normativity. Thus, for Benedict, the performativity of the Word implies a unity between Scripture and liturgy, and the resultant normativity of the Word implies a unity between Scripture and theology. Without these unities, and the life of continuous conversion that flows from their recognition, there can be no theology in the true sense of the word. If these unities are recognized, however, the task of the theologian becomes letting God himself “speak”—to be the servant or handmaiden of revelation.
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    Joseph Ratzinger’s Christological-Pneumatological Exegesis of the Old Testament
    (Wydawnictwo KUL, 2024) Heereman, Nina Sophie
    In his posthumously published collection of essays, Pope Benedict calls on the new generation of biblical scholars to develop methodological criteria for a “pneumatological exegesis” of the Old Testament. As a first step in this direction, the present article seeks to summarize Joseph Ratzinger’s/ Benedict XVI’s own theological reflection on the matter as we find it amply expounded both in his scholarly work and in his magisterium. First, Ratzinger’s understanding of revelation and of the place of both the Church and Scripture therein will be explained. Secondly, Ratzinger’s criteria for an interpretation of Scripture suited to revelation will be presented, with special emphasis on the way in which he both incorporates and goes beyond DV 12 with the help of systematic theology. In closing, Ratzinger’s own practice of Christological-pneumatological exegesis of the Old Testament is exemplified with an outline of his biblical Mariology.