An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church
Stock No: WW484291
An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church  -     Translated By: Jakob Karl Rinderknecht
    By: Karl Rahner

An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church

Fortress Press / 2022 / Paperback

In Stock
Stock No: WW484291

Buy Item Our Price$13.48 Retail: $28.00 Save 52% ($14.52)
In Stock
Quantity:
Stock No: WW484291
Fortress Press / 2022 / Paperback
Quantity:

Add To Cart

or checkout with

Add To Wishlist
Quantity:


Add To Cart

or checkout with

Wishlist

Product Information

Title: An Ecumenical Priesthood: The Spirit of God and the Structure of the Church
By: Karl Rahner
Translated By: Jakob Karl Rinderknecht
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 180
Vendor: Fortress Press
Publication Date: 2022
Dimensions: 8.50 X 5.50 (inches)
Weight: 9 ounces
ISBN: 1506484298
ISBN-13: 9781506484297
Stock No: WW484291

Publisher's Description

The question of whether Protestant ministers are validly ordained remains a barrier for ecumenical reconciliation between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Because Catholics in the past have judged Protestant ordinations to be invalid, the Catholic Church in the present feels bound to name these communions "not fully-churches." Many Protestants, however, accept Catholic bishops, priests, and deacons as ministers of the gospel and the Catholic Church as a true church (albeit one in need of ongoing reformation).

Since the problem is primarily a Catholic one, any reconciliation will require that Catholics find a solution through the theological resources of their own tradition. In An Ecumenical Priesthood, Karl Rahner proposes that the nature of the church and the affirmation of the presence of grace among Protestants may open a door to renewal and healing. As canon law validates improperly contracted marriages by examining their fruits, so recognizing the spiritual fruits of Protestant sacraments could allow Catholics to "restipulate" their position on these sacramental acts (and thereby the validity of the ministers who perform them), without revising the Church's original judgment.

Because the book is now nearly fifty years old and deals with internal Catholic questions, it is offered with an introduction to the era and an analysis of the argument, as well as an overview of recent decades of ecumenical discussions.

Author Bio

Karl Rahner, SJ (d. 1984), was among the most influential Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. He taught at the Universities of Innsbruck, Munich, and Münster, and was a major figure at the Second Vatican Council. His voluminous writings include Hearers of the Word, The Trinity, and Foundations of the Christian Faith.

Jakob Karl Rinderknecht is the director of the Pastoral Institute and associate professor of religion at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of Mapping the Differentiated Consensus of the Joint Declaration, which won the inaugural Harding Meyer Prize in Ecumenism in 2020.

Ask a Question

Author/Artist Review