Europe in Crisis: A Question of Belief or Unbelief? Perspectives from the Vatican

For Joseph Ratzinger, elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, modernity has transformed Europe into a continent without God. As a result, Europe's self-understanding is flawed. This outcome puts serious doubts on the Church's resolution, expressed in Gaudium et spes, to dialogue with the modern...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Boeve, Lieven 1966- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2007
In: Modern theology
Year: 2007, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 205-227
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:For Joseph Ratzinger, elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, modernity has transformed Europe into a continent without God. As a result, Europe's self-understanding is flawed. This outcome puts serious doubts on the Church's resolution, expressed in Gaudium et spes, to dialogue with the modern world. Moreover, the present pope was among the first to warn both church and society against the erosion of modernity. Also more recently, e.g. in his Values in a Time of Upheaval, he argued that only a Europe firmly rooted in Christian faith can survive the nihilism and moral crisis with which it is confronted. As a creative minority Christians should help Europe win back the best of its heritage and use it to the service of all humanity. In this contribution Boeve presents the evolution and primary features of Joseph Ratzinger's thought in this regard and concludes with a number of critical observations.
ISSN:1468-0025
Contains:Enthalten in: Modern theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0025.2007.00370.x