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Schillebeeckx and the Sensus Fidelium
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
Abstract
The article begins by making a connection between the theme of the sensus fidelium and theological hermeneutics, proposing the theology of Edward Schillebeeckx as a resource for weaving together the distinctive – and complementary – contributions to the development of doctrine made by the magisterium and by theologians. This helps to articulate an account of ‘the faithful’ that is inclusive, and can overcome the separation between the teaching Church and the learning Church that was so firmly in place between Vatican I and Vatican II. The ecclesiological image of the people of God is then explored, using two newly translated sources from Schillebeeckx's later works. This links the theological voice back to the magisterium and, drawing on the teaching of Pope Francis, the idea of ‘integral ecclesiology’ is proposed as part of the inclusive approach being recommended. Such an ecclesiology needs to draw the image of the people of God into a fruitful interaction with that of communio, and the article takes a pneumatological turn in order to do this. Using a metaphor from Pope Francis of the Holy Spirit as the source of harmony in the symphony of the church, a proposal is voiced that is retrospective and prospective at the same time, drawing the two hermeneutical strategies for the interpretation of Vatican II into a relational dialectic with each other. It also offers the possibility of a theological diversity that leads the church into greater union, and into ever deeper communion with the living God.
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- Copyright © 2017 Provincial Council of the English Province of the Order of Preachers
References
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4 International Theological Commission, Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church (2014), <http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20140610_sensus-fidei_en.html>, Heading before § 68.
5 The ITC uses the term sensus fidei fidelis with regard to the instinct of faith of the particular believer, sensus fidei fidelium to speak of that of all the faithful, and sensus fidei as a general term. (See ITC, Sensus Fidei, § 3.)
6 ITC, Sensus Fidei, § 70.
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30 Ibid.
31 Schillebeeckx, ‘Theological Quests’, p. 118; exact parallel Schillebeeckx, ‘Discontinuities in Christian Dogmas’, p. 92.
32 Ibid.
33 Schillebeeckx, ‘Theological Quests’, p. 119; exact parallel Schillebeeckx, ‘Discontinuities in Christian Dogmas’, p. 92.
34 After all, as McPartlan points out, this is the other main ecclesiological idea of Vatican II, and the one that Ratzinger prefers (see McPartlan, p. 44).
35 Tanner, God and Creation, p. 84. For an explanation of how this can help to bring diverse theological approaches into dialogue with each other, see Poulsom, pp. 33‐35.
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49 ITC, Sensus Fidei, § 62.
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