Loyola University Chicago

Proceeding from an initial “diachronic” examination of the theologian-pope’s writings, students will be able to:

(1) demonstrate familiarity with the stances taken by Ratzinger with regard both to the classic topics of Systematic Theology (Trinity, Jesus Christ, Resurrection, The Church, etc.) and to his particular emphasis on the relationships between Faith and Reason and Christianity and World Religions; thereby students will gain an understanding of the most important Roman Catholic beliefs, the historical evolution of Roman Catholicism, key Roman Catholic concepts, terms, values, and religious practices.

(2) assess and evaluate Ratzinger’s analysis of the situation of contemporary society and Christianity (the Catholic Church), as well as of the individual Christian suspended between faith and doubt;

 (3) form and articulate a personal judgment regarding the points of continuity and change in Ratzinger’s thought over time, in dialogue and dispute with other theologies.

Note: Satisfies Loyola's requirement in the Core area of Theological and Religious Studies Knowledge. Also satisfies the Core value of Understanding Spirituality or Faith in Action in the World.

Assigned Readings:

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Introduction to Christianity (Rome:    Ignatius Press 2004)

Other readings will be assigned from a selection of books and articles placed on reserve in the Rome Center Library and from sources accessible via the Internet. (Blackboard!)

Requirements for the Course and Evaluation:

You are expected to be present at all classes (unless you have prior permission from the instructor or the Rome Center direction, or a documented medical condition) and to participate in class discussion. Questions will be included on the syllabus to guide your reading of the texts, to help you ask your own questions, and to facilitate discussion in class. Class will consist of an introductory lecture and the discussion of the primary texts and secondary literature assigned for that day. All lectures, except for the textbook references, will be found on Blackboard, most of them in the Rome Center Library. Students must bring the textbook and are strongly advised to make photocopies of the assigned secondary sources to each meeting in order to facilitate class discussion.

The mid-term and final examinations, covering material in the lectures and assigned reading, will each count for one third of the final grade, leaving the last third for a term paper of 5-7 pages plus bibliography. Paper topics must be approved in advance by the instructor. Extra consideration in the final grade will be given to students who demonstrate consistent participation in class discussion.

 
Grading Scale:

A = 4.0; A- = 3.67; B+ = 3.33; B = 3.00; B- = 2.67; C+ = 2.33; C = 2.00; C- = 1.67; D+ = 1.33; D = 1.00; F = 0; WF = 0.Determination of grades ultimately resides in the judgment of the instructor; however, if you ever feel that you have been graded inaccurately, please come to see me.

Academic Integrity:

Plagiarism in academic work or dishonest examination behavior will result minimally in the instructor assigning the grade of “F” for the assignment or examination.  Moreover, all instances of academic dishonesty must be reported to the Rome Center’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the consideration of additional sanctions.

SCHEDULE OF LESSONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Introduction

Sep 07             Introduction to the course; biographical and bibliographical information concerning Joseph Ratzinger.

I. Humanity Facing God in Today’s World

Sep 14          “I believe – help my disbelief” (Mk 17,24) – Presuppositions of belief

Required Readings: “Belief in the world of Today”,  Introduction to Christianity (German original 1968), pp. 39-81.

“Formal Principles of Christianity – Catholic View” in Principles of Catholic Theology: Building Stones for a Fundamental Theology  (German original 1982), pp. 67-84.

Sep 21          “I believe – we believe” – Faith in a communion of believers

Required Readings: “The Ecclesiastical Form of Faith”, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 82-100

            “The spiritual basis and ecclesial identity of theology”, in The Nature and Mission of Theology. Essays to Orient Theology in Today’s Debate (German original 1993), pp. 45- 72.

Sep 28          “I believe – I think rationally”(fides quaerens intellectum) – Christianity a synthesis of faith and reason

Required Readings: “Faith, philosophy and theology”,  in The Nature and Mission of Theology. Essays to Orient Theology in Today’s Debate, pp. 13-29.

“Christianity, the Religion According to Reason", lecture given by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the convent of Saint Scholastica in Subiaco, Italy, April 1st 2005 (http://catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0143.html[R2] 

II. God facing humanity in today’s world

Oct 05          The meaning of “God”

Required Readings: “Prolegomena to the subject of God”, “The Biblical Belief in God”, Faith in God Today”, “The God of Faith and the God of the Philosophers”, Introduction to Christianity, 103-161.

Encyclical “Deus Caritas est”, Part 1, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html

Oct 19          The meaning of “Triune God”

Required Readings: “Faith in God Today”, “Belief in the Triune God”, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 162-190.

III. Jesus Christ for Today’s World

Oct 23          The “heart” of Christianity: Jesus the Christ

Required Readings: “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord”, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 193-270.

Jesus of Nazareth, Foreword and Introduction, pp. Xi-XXiV; 1-8.

LAST DATE FOR APPROVAL OF TERM PAPER TOPICS

Oct 26          MID-TERM EXAMINATION

Required Readings: “The development of Faith in Christ in the Christological Articles of the Creed”, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 271-327.

IV.  The Church as Temple of the Spirit

Nov 09         The dynamic (eschatological) understanding of the Church

Required Readings: “The intrinsic unity of the last statements in the Creed”, “Two Major Questions posed by the articles on the Spirit and the Church”, Introduction to Christianity, pp. 331-359.

“The Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Dead”, in J. Ratzinger, Eschatology, death and eternal life, Washington D.C., 1988, 104-161.

Encyclical, In Spe Salvi, no. 1-15

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html

Nov 16         The Commun(i)al understanding of the Church

Required Readings: “The Origin and Essence of the Church” in Called to Communion.

Understanding the Church today, (German original 1991), pp. 13-45.

 “Form and Content in the Eucharistic Celebration”, in The Feast of Faith. Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy (German original 1981), pp. 33-60

Encyclical, Caritas in veritate, no. 21-42, 68-79.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html

Required Readings: “Interreligious Dialogue and Jewish-Christian Relations” in Communio 25 (1998): 29-41 http://www.communio-icr.com/

The Sermon on the Mount,in  Jesus of Nazareth,pp. 64-127.

TERM PAPER DUE on this DATE

Nov 30         The Church and World Religions

Required Readings: “Truth-Tolerance-Freedom”, in Truth and Tolerance. Christian Belief and World Religions (German original  2003), pp. 210-231

“Regensburg Lecture”: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html

Dec 7    3:00-5:00      FINAL EXAMINATION (as scheduled by the JFRC)

Examples of long paper topics

• "The Negative Theology of Joseph Ratzinger"
• Faith and Reason: A Return to an Augustinian Perspective in the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger
• Ratzinger On The Sacred Liturgy
• The Mystery of the Eucharist as theological center in Joseph Ratzinger
• How to speak about God with J. Ratzinger’s theology
• The Mystery of the Eucharist as theological center in Joseph Ratzinger
• The significance of the “Regensburg” speech